It’s good to have friends in high places.

Almost $40 billion of the Obama administration’s $819 billion stimulus package, which is currently moving its way through the U.S. Senate, will go to tech industry initiatives.

The tech industry got everything on its wish list and then some despite the fact that outside of the telecom and traditional IT sectors, the industry is woefully inadequate at lobbying. (Group Asks Obama for $30B Tech Stimulus)

The bulk of the $40 billion, if it survives, will go to three areas:  broadband development, a national health IT network, and a smart energy grid--initiatives that have never attracted significant commercial funding.

The tech industry’s argument is that a one-time stimulus in these areas will not only generate almost a million jobs, it will get all three initiatives into a position where they can attract commercial investment.

“We are focused on smart investments that would transform our infrastructure so that when we come out of it we would be much more competitive in the international market,” said John Castellani, president of the Business Roundtable, an organization made up of CEOs including Verizon’s Ivan Seidenberg.

The Business Roundtable was one of the groups that helped shape the tech stimulus package.

At the very least the stimulus could satisfy social needs. In the case of broadband, it could help lower the digital divide, and in the case of the health network, it could improve the delivery of health care.

“It will depend on if the industry can eventually wean itself off the subsidies and get to critical mass where these initiatives are self-sustaining,” said Tim Farrar, president of Telecom Media and Finance Associates.

Candidate Obama was seen in the high tech community as the first presidential candidate to really “get” computer technology. (Tech Plan for Obama and McCain)

Now President Obama has delivered. Before the economy tanked, delivering meant tax incentives to stimulate innovation, patent reform, and allowing foreign students to get green cards more easily.

Now, with free money coming from the federal government, the tech industry has upped the ante to include nationwide broadband, a health IT network, and a smart grid along with the earlier stuff.

But getting federal money could prove to be the easy part for the industry. There are parochial interests in the industry that could blunt the effectiveness of the stimulus plan. (The Presidential Candidates and Innovation)

The mostly unregulated Internet sector favors telecom regulation, particularly network neutrality regulation, while the telecom sector abhors network neutrality and regulation in general.

How these factions arrive at some kind of coherent stimulus spending plan will affect both the effectiveness and the length of time it takes for the spending to show results.

“There must be regulation or the tech industry will shape the spending to favor incumbents at the expense of innovation,” Mr. Farrar said. “Let’s hope that in six months they are not fighting over how the money should be spent.”