Large scale opportunities may arise from new regulation cutbacks occurring at the Federal level. As this story unfolds, competition between baby bells is due to increase. The Telecom Act of 1996 calling for Bells to lease their lines to rivals for the exchange of being able to provide long distance, hasn't really been given a chance to reshape local service. So today, from California to New York, state regulators are applying the 1996 Act with determination. On the other hand, empirical evidence has shown that sharing networks at below rate prices will discourage capital investment into technology and upgrading broadband networks. I as Governor must seek an optimal balance between sharing and massive fiber optics upgrades.

Arizona's present economy suffers from interstate commerce dependence. Of the many high tech and few telecommunications companies that do exist, most retain their headquarters in other parts of the country. There is a need to not only attract these types of companies, but to encourage upper level management to relocate to Arizona as well. I will work with state agencies to invite industry players to Arizona and work to make the local environment conducive to doing business. In addition, Arizona is situated as a major gateway to Mexico which offers economic opportunities itself, including a solid workforce, and major shipping port and a fine strategic partner. I will work towards building cross border relationships, which will serve as a compelling reason to relocate to Arizona.

Literacy, in its entirety begins with a solid foundation in education. While Arizona has top rated universities, primary and secondary schools are sorely lacking in investment dollars and educational programs. I have already outlined my plan to address this issue in the media and on my website.

• Above and beyond general education programs, technology specific education has proven highly successful with apprenticeship programs following higher learning, not unlike European workforce training models. As Governor, I would like to introduce such a program to better prepare tomorrow's workforce.
• I am a proponent of a distance-learning program targeting secondary school students who have yet to complete their high school diploma.
• To insure technology specific education, infrastructure development is a critical first step, and my administration will work to insure that Arizona has sufficient capability to meet those needs.

Broadband technology is today's conduit for advanced network applications. I would like to provide for small enterprise opportunities in the broadband service sector while maintaining a close eye on the evolving economic viability and role of SMEs in this area.

As far as existing broadband infrastructure is concerned, we need to take a closer look at operational continuity as it is affected by usage rate variability. The all too common bottleneck causes a business down time and ultimately lost revenues. This can be addressed. We need to form a public/private partnership commission to look at new allocation strategies to improve traffic flow.

Yes I do. We will start by making business creation affordable to Arizona based firms. I have recently released my economic plan which outlines tax reductions as well as other improvements.

1. Of particular help to technology based firms will be an elimination of the business personal property tax. Currently, firms actually have to pay an annual tax on equipment they own. The state has even developed accelerated depreciation schedules to compensate for this tax mound, doing nothing more than to prohibit new technology and investment into renewable equipment.
2. I will work to reduce regulations and update zoning laws providing for a more favorable business environment.
3. I will work with health insurance companies and the legislature to find a workable solution for implementing health insurance pooling legislation to make health insurance more affordable for small businesses.

I fully agree there are cross sectional differences in regards to telecommunications and internet availability. We can work to reduce disparities along group lines. The two prominent disparities exist on 1) the economic group level and 2) geographic social group level. We should begin by looking at those two populations.

To help bridge the digital divide, we can work with regional government and private corporations to help reduce inequities with the groups referred to above as mentioned in the question.

I think the state needs to protect its citizens from fraudulent actions stemming from transactions over the internet. I will take a strong line against scams and adopt preventative measures, when necessary. I am also an opponent of the commoditization of personal information without consent. I will balance the need for security with privacy rights through defensive channeling of personal data into secure modules.

I will implement new archiving systems and cross-relational databases to preserve and further make records available to the public. Front-end development is essential to reduce need for in person librarians and increase navigation and instantaneous online access of public documents to the general public.