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BBC News - US plans to give high-speed broadband to every American

US regulators have unveiled the nation's first plan to give every American super-fast broadband by 2020.

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC), which has submitted the plan to Congress, said broadband was the "greatest infrastructure challenge".

It estimates that one-third of Americans, about 100 million people, are without broadband at home.

The FCC's goal is to provide speeds of 100 megabits per second (Mbps), compared to an average 4Mbps now



Any idiot can face a crisis - it's day to day living that wears you out.
by ceebs (ceebs (at) eurotrib (dot) com) on Tue Mar 16th, 2010 at 03:52:56 PM EST
[ Parent ]
100 Mbps, not. Not nationwide. Not with $7B. Not by 2020.

  1. IRRC, AT&T is exempt from common carrier regulations. But AT&T owns and operates the backbone infrastructure. I heard a NPR interview with a wannabe local BB carrier explaining AT&T unbundling indiscretions. This isn't NPR but gives a sense of teh stupid consequences of FCC classifications.

  2. Telecommunications Act of 1996 deregulating "universal service" requirements and contributions, not to mention effects of PUHCA repeal, deregulating restrictions on all utility holding companies' subsidiary transfer pricing, controlling interests etc. That's a competition killer.

  3. prohibitive costs of build by the mile to each HH --even for a GOOG boondoggle. Health care providers, *.edu, government subscribers are most likely and mandated, immediate beneficiares of new fed-funded BB incubation.

  4. Consumers' prohibitive cost to upgrade. Current $140/mo 35Mbps. FiOs for example competes with cable co.s in "triple-play" service space to limit multiplexed transmission until they can figure out how to package and price surplus capacity of existing network. It's kinda sad akshully.

  5. Americans are not Finnish, srsly


Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.
by Cat on Wed Mar 17th, 2010 at 12:51:17 AM EST
[ Parent ]

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