U.S. Goal: Rev up the Net
WASHINGTON More corners of the country would have high-speed Internet access and existing connections would become much faster under a sweeping proposal to overhaul U.S. broadband policy that is being presented today.
The plan from the Federal Communications Commission is meant to guide the government's strategy on broadband for the next decade and beyond. It reflects the Obama administration's concern that the nation that invented the Internet is in danger of falling behind other countries that have faster speeds at lower prices.
The proposal sets a goal of connecting 100 million U.S. households to broadband connections of 100 megabits per second - at least 20 times faster than most home connections now - by 2020. Although existing connections are often fast enough to let people watch TV shows or movies on computers, faster connections would open new kinds of services, such as fast-loading, high-definition videos ideal for viewing on big-screen TVs. The FCC also says faster broadband would enable doctors to monitor patients over the Internet and broaden the opportunities for students to take classes online.
Another key component is creating a new wireless network for police, firefighters and other public safety workers so they can communicate and share data and video among departments during major emergencies.
Lawmakers and public safety organizations have pushed for such a network since the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, when first responders at the World Trade Center had trouble communicating. The FCC has recommended Congress authorize $12 billion to $16 billion to create the network, the plan's largest allocation.
The plan also calls for every American community to have at least one "anchor" institution, such as a school, library or hospital, that has ultra-high-speed access - 10 times faster than the 100 megabits per second envisioned for home connections.
Yet it's not certain the FCC can find the corporate support and legal clearance to carry out the entire plan.
Already, broadcasters oppose one key proposal, which calls for reclaiming some airwaves from TV stations and auctioning those frequencies to wireless Internet companies.
Funding could be a question as well. The FCC does not estimate the plan's total cost. It insists that its proposals could be paid for by auctioning off slices of the airwaves. But the agency will have to convince Congress that as much as $20 billion from the airwave auctions be set aside for broadband plans and not get routed to other purposes.
That would come on top of the $7.2 billion for broadband included in the 2009 stimulus bill. The Commerce and Agriculture departments are handing out that money now.
Last year's stimulus bill also required the FCC to come up with the broadband plan, which is being delivered to Congress today. The plan argues that high-speed Internet access is no longer a luxury but is critical for economic development, education and other aspects of daily life.
"Broadband is an infrastructure challenge that's very akin to what we've faced in the past with telephones and electricity," FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski said.
The plan is also designed to encourage more people to subscribe to broadband. About two-thirds of U.S. households have high-speed Internet access. Many people in the remaining one-third could get broadband, but don't because they think it's too expensive or because they don't see a need for it.
The FCC plan calls for increasing adoption rates to more than 90 percent of the population.
When rural areas lack broadband access, it's often because phone and cable companies haven't found it worthwhile to invest in dragging high-speed lines to remote places that would have few subscribers. One way the FCC hopes to expand broadband use is with wireless technology.
The wireless industry licenses about 500 megahertz of the wireless spectrum. In a move akin to adding more lanes to a freeway, the FCC hopes to free up 500 megahertz more over the next decade, both for licensed purposes and for uses that don't require a license, such as Wi-Fi networks.
The agency hopes to get roughly 120 megahertz of that spectrum from broadcasters of free, over-the-air TV. It would allow broadcasters to unload frequencies they don't need and share in the proceeds raised by auctioning those airwaves to wireless companies.
That proposal has run into resistance from the National Association of Broadcasters. TV broadcasters gave up more than 100 megahertz of spectrum when they shut off analog signals last year and began broadcasting only in digital. Many say they plan to use their remaining frequencies to transmit high-definition signals, to "multicast" multiple channels and to deliver mobile TV to phones, laptops and cars.
The FCC plan also lays out a framework for overhauling the federal Universal Service Fund to pay for expanding broadband instead of basic phone service. The $8-billion-a-year program, financed by a surcharge that businesses and consumers pay on long-distance bills, was established to subsidize telephone service in sparsely populated places. The Los Angeles Times contributed Read more: http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2010/03/16/1316648/us-goal-rev-up-the-net.html#ixzz0jQAiidBP
