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In order to create new jobs and stimulate economic growth, the U.S. needs to "out-innovate, out-educate and out-build the rest of the world," President Obama stressed during last week's State of the Union address.

To accomplish this goal, the administration will elicit the help of the Internet. The president said that one of the key ways that the U.S. will turn around the economy is by connecting the country through the deployment of the next-generation of high-speed wireless networks.

Obama said that within the next five years, the government will make it possible for service providers to roll out high-speed wireless to 98 percent of all Americans.

"This isn't just about a faster internet and fewer dropped calls, it's about connecting every part of America to the digital age," he said. "To attract new businesses to our shores, we need the fastest, most reliable ways to move people, goods, and information — from high-speed rail to high-speed Internet."

Obama's statement comes only a few weeks after the chairman of the Federal Communications Commission said that his number one priority in the coming year is to increase the amount of available broadband spectrum – a necessary step in accomplishing the president's aggressive new goal.

The administration will encourage the growth of high-speed wireless networks through funding and spectrum auctions.

As part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, Obama allocated $7.2 billion for the expansion of wireless broadband. The majority of this money has been distributed to telecom providers, which previously had no financial incentive to roll out high-speed networks to rural areas.

"It takes a whole lot of money to serve (rural populations)," Dave Osborn, CEO of Texas-based Valley Telephone Cooperative, told the AP. "At the end of the day, there's no way I can spend $14,000 on a line and bill a customer $16 a month. We couldn't do it without (the federal dollars)."

The second aspect of Obama's plan is sure to involve the repurposing of several hundred MHz of spectrum from television broadcasters that aren't currently using it. These untapped airwaves can be auctioned off to service providers, giving them the ability to create high-speed networks that are capable of handling the nation's ever-increasing wireless load. The FCC (News - Alert) has been toying with the idea of a spectrum auction for months now.

Want to learn more about the latest in communications & technology? Then be sure to attend ITEXPO East 2011, taking place Feb 2-4, 2011, in Miami. ITEXPO (News - Alert) offers an educational program to help corporate decision makers select the right IP-based voice, video, fax and unified communications solutions to improve their operations. It's also where service providers learn how to profitably roll out the services their subscribers are clamoring for – and where resellers can learn about new growth opportunities. To register, click here.

Beecher Tuttle is a TMCnet contributor. He has extensive experience writing and editing for print publications and online news websites. He has specialized in a variety of industries, including health care technology, politics and education. To read more of his articles, please visit his columnist page.

Edited by Tammy Wolf