National Broadband Plan
The Federal Communications Commission’s grand scheme to achieve broadband growth in America is on course to do just the opposite. The same plan that boasts of bringing Internet speeds of 100 Mega Bits per second (Meg) to at least 100 million urban Americans by the year 2020 sets the bar at the perilously low threshold of just 4 Meg for service in rural and other regions that are economically challenging to serve. Establishing such a low speed goal for rural America puts the nation on course for a massive urban/rural broadband bandwidth divide and threatens the FCC’s own goal of advancing broadband deployment—not to mention our nation’s productivity.
Broadband access a few years ago was a luxury; today it is an essential service. It is vital to the economic viability of our state. Every day, millions of Americans go online to conduct business transactions, apply for jobs, review medical files, access libraries – there’s no end to the opportunities the Internet affords. Broadband connections help consumers living far from the nation’s economic and social centers, to fully participate in the global economy. Rural communities benefit from those connections as well, with broadband access attracting industry which creates jobs and increases the tax base.
A 4 Meg network provides woefully inadequate bandwidth capacity for today’s needs—let alone future demands—of rural consumers, businesses, farms, hospitals and educational institutions. Under the FCC’s current proposal, rural consumers whose livelihoods depend on fast, reliable broadband would end up with substandard service. Meanwhile, urban consumers will enjoy speeds 25 times faster than the goal speed for rural networks. Why is the FCC so willing to make rural Americans second class citizens in its efforts to make the U.S. a broadband leader? Everyone deserves the broadband capacity to live, learn, work and compete in the global economy.
Even the grossly inadequate 4 Meg speed threshold is difficult to achieve for rural areas, which lack the population density and economic resources found in urban locales. Making even 4 Meg universally available in rural America will be a challenge, with the FCC’s broadband plan proposing to erode many of the time-tested mechanisms that have helped build our world‐class telephone network. Rather than ignore the policies that have resulted in a telephone penetration rate of over 94%, the FCC should be looking for ways to implement them for broadband deployment.
EVERYONE deserves quality telecommunications services, which today translates to broadband. The 1996 Communications Act requires that rural consumers have access to communications services at prices that are affordable and reasonably comparable to those available in urban areas. It is quite obvious that 4 Meg and 100 Meg are not reasonably comparable. The FCC’s plan, rather than supporting the philosophy of universal service for all Americans, offers faster, better service to some Americans while guaranteeing lesser service to others.
The FCC and Congress must redirect the broadband plan to ensure 100 Mbps service is the goal for all U.S. consumers, not just a select few. Continuing on the current path will leave rural America on the slow side of the broadband digital divide.
Please voice your concerns with the National Broadband Plan by contacting your Senators and Representative. Below is a sample letter for you to send so that your members of Congress better understand how this plan will affect their constituents. Choose the appropriate Congressman to mail the letter for your state.
Sample Letter below:
Senator Jerry Moran
Russell Senate Office Building Room 354 Washington, D.C. 20510
Senator Pat Roberts
109 Hart Senate Office Building Washington, DC 20510-1605
Representative Tim Huelskamp
126 Cannon HOB Washington, DC 20515
Honorable Julius Genachowski
Chairman
Federal Communications Commission
445 Twelfth Street, SW
Washington, D.C. 20554