MARQUETTE -- It was a wonderful day to be a Wildcat, a defining moment in Marquette history, when President Barack Obama addressed the Northern Michigan University and the U.P., using our own lingo.

"It's wonderful to be here in the Upper Peninsula with so many 'Yoopers,'" said the President.

But he didn't come here for the beautiful scenery--he came to do business for a demonstration of Northern Michigan University's advanced broadband network called WiMax.

Today he told the crowd at NMU’s Vandament Arena that he wants to use the WiMax technology as a broadband model for our entire country.

"We want to multiply this story all over the country.  We want to invest in the next generation of high speed wireless coverage for 98 percent of Americans," Obama said.

The President called broadband Internet access a modern day transcontinental railroad system, and he said with its growth, our country will see growth as well.

"Overnight, the transcontinental railroad laid the way for a nationwide economy; not a bunch of local economies, but a nationwide economy," the President said.  "So this is a new century, and we can't expect tomorrow's economy to take root using yesterday's infrastructure and for our families and our businesses.  High speed wireless, that's the next train station."

To build that so called "broadband station," he plans to invest in research and development of emerging technologies and applications, and nobody was happier to hear that than a beaming NMU president, Les Wong.

“Suddenly we weren't just Northern, but we were Northern Michigan University, where the President of the United States is going to see what we do,” said Wong.

What will they do next?  President Wong told me that the FCC just announced that they're going to loosen up the rules on broadband distribution, so they can expand their technology.  As for the federal government, they want to use the broadband network to enhance public safety, allowing police and firefighters to access information more quickly.