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FCC Develops Strategy for Rural Broadband

sparky3887 — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 22:05:35 +0000

The U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has released a broadband strategy for the rural United States that cautions against relying on a single technology. “Rural broadband likely will include a variety of different technologies that together can support the state-of-the-art, secure, and resilient broadband service that should be our goal for rural America, just as it is for the non-rural parts of the nation,” acting FCC chairman Michael Copps says in the report. Existing issues involving universal service fund, network openness, spectrum access, special access reform, intercarrier compensation, access to poles and rights of way, and video programming need to be resolved. Federal, state, local, and tribal organizations need to work together to collect data and determine where broadband is available and who is using it. The agency also needs to develop initiatives to drive demand for broadband services. High network cost is another issue, and the Obama administration has provided $7.2 billion in stimulus money for broadband. The report will serve as a foundation for developing a national broadband policy, which is due by February 2010.

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Study Backs Open Access to Broadband Networks

sparky3887 — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 02:22:54 +0000

The majority of countries with the most successful broadband deployments have opened up the networks of their main carriers to competing service providers, according to a draft report issued by the U.S. Federal Communications Commission. The report, by Harvard University’s Berkman Center for Internet and Society, analyzed findings from a variety of market-oriented democracies in an effort to understand what approaches are the most successful at ensuring that citizens have adequate high-speed Internet access. Most of the highest ranked countries use open access policies in which the incumbent carriers must allow competitors to lease capacity on their networks to offer their own services. In comparison, the United States established open access rules in the Telecommunications Act of 1996, but has backed away from implementing them early in this decade, according to the report. The study found that open-access policies were a major contributor to the success of many first-generation wired network transitions, and is now helping second-generation wired rollouts. Japan, South Korea, Sweden, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom are among the countries that have used open-access rules to foster strong broadband markets. In most measurements of broadband success, the United States ranks in the middle of developed countries, according to the study’s analysis. The U.S. ranks 15th on broadband penetration per 100 people, and 19th in 3G wireless penetration. However, the U.S. ranks fifth in both median upload speed and in a broad measure of prices for low-speed broadband, and ninth in the number of Wi-Fi hotspots per 100,000 people.

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FCC Develops Strategy for Rural Broadband

sparky3887 — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 01:19:22 +0000

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Broadband Is This Generation’s Highway System, FCC Chief Says

sparky3887 — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 17:12:36 +0000

In early August, U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairman Julius Genachowski toured California to build support for the FCC’s ongoing effort to create the nation’s first broadband plan. Genachowski’s trip, along with the 18 broadband hearings the FCC will hold before the end of the summer, is intended to show that the FCC is planning a highly ambitious proposal for the country’s IT infrastructure. “Broadband is our generation’s infrastructure challenge,” says Genachowski. “It is as important as electricity and highways were for past generations.” The stimulus package has set aside $7 billion for broadband grants and loans. Genachowski says President Obama and Congress have asked for an ambitious broadband effort, and points out that when Congress ordered the FCC to deliver a plan next February it specified that the plan should promote national priorities, including health, anti-terrorism, education, and disaster preparedness. Broadband has already advanced medical practices, including taking and sending photos of babies’ eyes to ophthalmologists to help prevent retinopathy, or connecting specialists to rural hospitals to allow doctors to examine patients who are miles away. However, even less expensive broadband and technology may not be enough to persuade hospitals to upgrade to new technology because the nation’s health insurance reimbursement system often will not pay for e-consults, including Medicare. “We are just scratching [the] surface of what broadband technology can do for the country,” says Genachowski. “I don’t think enough people appreciate the very real, practical benefits that a 21st century telecom infrastructure can provide.”

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U.S. Government Soliciting Broadband Experts

sparky3887 — Fri, 31 Jul 2009 22:42:53 +0000

The Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) is seeking industry experts to evaluate grant proposals for its $4.7 billion Broadband Technology Opportunities Program. NTIA is looking for proposals directed at expanding broadband connectivity to unserved and underserved communities across the United States. Such projects should also serve to drive the demand for broadband, increase public computing center capacity, and enhance broadband education. Proposals must indicate lasting value to commerce, economic development, education, research, health care, and energy conservation. NTIA is looking for expert reviewers with a background in broadband-related activities, including engineering, business development, economics, research and development, and project management. Extensive experience in analysis and oversight of infrastructure projects is most welcome. Participants are asked to make a minimum time commitment of 20 hours between mid August and mid September.

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New Coalition Pushes for ‘Big’ Broadband

sparky3887 — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 00:18:24 +0000

A new report from the Schools, Health and Libraries Broadband (SHLB) Coalition says that schools, libraries, and healthcare providers in the United States need broadband speeds of 100 Mbps to 1 Gbps to adequately serve their customers’ needs. The SHLB Coalition, which features 28 members, including the New America Foundation, the American Library Association, Internet 2, and Educause, is urging U.S. federal, state, and local governments to seriously consider the needs of libraries, schools, and healthcare providers when developing broadband deployment plans. “High-speed broadband is the key infrastructure that K-12 schools, universities, libraries, hospitals, clinics, and other healthcare providers need to provide 21st-century education, information, and health services,” says SHLB coordinator John Windhausen. The institutions are core elements of communities, and affordable, high-speed broadband will help both their immediate customers and surrounding neighborhoods through shared networks, says New America Foundation Wireless Future Program director Michael Calabrese. “The most promising public investment, given limited resources, would be high-capacity fiber networks connecting community anchor institutions in every local jurisdiction,” Calabrese says. “By becoming both technology hubs and bringing fiber deep into every community, schools, libraries, and healthcare providers will [bring] affordable broadband access to everyone.”

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FCC Develops Strategy for Rural Broadband

sparky3887 — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 02:10:32 +0000

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