From there, Obama moved the conversation toward a discussion of how the government could improve the nation's infrastructure — its backbone of bridges, roads, tunnels, airports and the like, much of which has seen better days.
Long after telecoms firms stopped digging up the roads, backbone capacity continues to explode.Demand, meanwhile, trundles along at the sedate pace set by America's four "Baby Bells", the firms which own the ageing copper telephone wires connecting the fiber-optic backbone to millions of homes and businesses.
Together with Quebec Autoroute 20, it forms the road transportation backbone of the Quebec City Windsor Corridor, along which over half of Canada's population resides.
Beyond X-Road, the backbone of Estonia's digital security is a blockchain technology called K.S.I.
"In new urban areas, it is easier to implement a comprehensive programme, where a single trench is dug as the backbone of both sewer and road construction, and the infrastructure for water, electricity, gas and communications networks is done in one swoop.
"Roads are the backbone of the economy and the glue that holds the rest of the transport network together, with four-fifths of manufacturers saying they are critical to their business operations," said Terry Scuoler, EEF chief executive.
Traditionally, the federal government played a major role in developing the nation's transportation backbone: Thomas Jefferson built canals and roads in the 1800s, Theodore Roosevelt expanded power generation in the early 1900s.
The roads are the backbone of a network based on which the operation is conducted.
Roads are the backbone of all agricultural supply chains, and crucial for many other sectors, such as tourism.
"The high street is more than simply a collection of shops on the side of the road; it is the backbone of the local economy," he said.
