Google calls for more investments in smart phone, broadband networks

Google Executive Chairman Eric Schmidt said Tuesday the smart phone and broadband networks are good investment targets in the next five to ten years.

"The entire industry has switched to the smart phone as the access device to everything. Every single thing in your personal life, in your professional life will be controlled and monitored by applications yet to be invented on smart phones," said Schmidt at the 2015 SelectUSA Investment Summit, a biennial event started in 2013 to promote investment in the country.

"That is the next five to ten years, I would say," Schmidt said.

"So the real question is what happened on the back end and the answer is broadband, broadband and broadband," said Schmidt, "because these phones are not very useful without very high speed networks."

More than 98 percent of Americans now have access to 4th Generation (4G) high-speed wireless Internet, nearly two years ahead of schedule, thanks to higher-than-expected public and private investments, the White House said Monday.

Schmidt called on entrepreneurs in other countries to follow the trend and make more investments in this area.

"For those of you who are not from the United States, it's very very important to have national broadband plan," Schmidt added.

Schmidt also said if governments want to create more jobs, they should listen more to local entrepreneurs, especially those from small companies.

The 2015 SelectUSA Investment Summit attracted over 2,600 participants, including 1,300 companies from more than 70 countries and regions as well as over 500 U.S. economic development officials across the country.

China tops the list of delegations to this year's Summit with about 150 investors from the Chinese mainland and Hong Kong. Endit