The Federal Communications Commission on Tuesday characterized its Congressionally mandated “national broadband plan” as a much-needed step for keeping the United States competitive.
The proposal, which the agency sent to Congress on Tuesday, “is necessary to meet the challenges of global competitiveness, and harness the power of broadband to help address so many vital national issues,” the agency chairman, Julius Genachowski, said in a statement.
The plan also includes a faster-Internet initiative that theoretically would equip 100 million households with 100-megabit-a-second access by the end of this decade. According to comScore, the average subscriber now receives speeds of three to four megabits a second.
What most Americans don't want to accept is that we are lagging far behind other countries in broadband adoption and speed.
"The F.C.C. says it can make some important changes on its own, without Congressional action, including changes to the Universal Service Fund, which spends $8 billion a year from telephone surcharges to ensure that rural and poor people have phone lines at home. Over time, the fund will spend more to support broadband availability."
In his statement Tuesday, Mr. Genachowski called the proposal “a 21st century roadmap to spur economic growth and investment, create jobs, educate our children, protect our citizens, and engage in our democracy.”
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