FCC Readies Its Broadband Plan
By Chris Weiss
The FCC will present its National Broadband Plan to Congress on St. Paddy’s Day (March 17), a plan aimed at extending broadband to Americans that don’t currently have access to it. The FCC pegs the number of Americans without broadband at around 93 million, nearly one third of the country. The agency’s plan aims to get these people connected to high-speed access to assist in jobs, healthcare and education.
Reasons cited for the great number of Americans lacking broadband access include price, digital literacy and disinterest. Many people simply cannot afford broadband pricing, while others don’t have a firm grasp of the technology or have no interest in access. Some are also barred from access by geographical limitations (i.e. it’s not offered in their area).
The plan isn’t just related to access; one of the elements of the plan calls for upping minimum speeds of broadband to 100 Mbps (from under 4 Mbps), which would provide a great benefit to all broadband users. We’ll see what the rest of the plan entails next month. [via Reuters] [Photo: EDgAr H.]
