Arlington, Va. – Dave McCurdy, president of the Electronic Industries Alliance (EIA), today commended President Bush for his commitment to aggressively speed the widespread use of broadband technology and encourage demand across the country.

The President’s announcement was made at today’s “21st Century High Tech Forum” at the White House. The President emphasized the importance of removing hurdles and barriers to promoting broadband technology and stressed that competition is critical to the success of broadband rollout.

McCurdy attended today’s Tech Forum along with EIA members Larry Blanford, CEO of Philips Consumer Electronics; Mike Quigley, president of Alcatel of the Americas; Edward R. Kientz, Telecommunications Industry Association chairman of board and president of Benner-Nawman; and Robert Borchardt, EIA chairman of the board and president and CEO of Recoton Corp.

“We are very pleased with today’s White House Tech Forum,” said Borchardt. “Our industry plays a critical role in the recovery of the U.S. economy, and today was a good session for both the industry and the Administration to determine what next steps we can take to continue our economic recovery. We were especially encouraged by President Bush’s remarks on broadband. President Bush’s involvement in this issue will bring new energy and visibility to a key priority of our industry.

“While many people still think of broadband as just a faster way to get online or read e-mail, high-speed access has many more sophisticated uses. Telemedicine, distance learning and emergency communication are just a few of the applications broadband is already ushering in, and we can’t even imagine all that is to come.”

McCurdy said: “We realize there are still contentious issues within the regulatory and content elements of broadband technology, but we are confident that industry and government will be able to work through them and provide the American public with a powerful tool for the 21st century.

“President Bush’s backing and understanding of the importance of broadband deployment is greatly appreciated. We look forward to our continued work with the White House, Congress and the federal agencies involved in cultivating a national broadband strategy.”