Critic Says Ultrafast Broadband Proposal Falls Short
A prominent consumer advocate warned Wednesday that an FCC proposal to bring ultrafast broadband service to 100 million households over the next decade -- at the sizzling speed of 100 megabits per second -- would leave up to 30 million households without access to the technology, CongressDaily reported. Consumer Federation of America's Mark Cooper said that while he is encouraged by the agency's goal, which he described as "bold," he worried that it falls short of the mark.
The proposal was unveiled Tuesday by FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski as a key tenet of the agency's upcoming national broadband plan, which is due to Congress March 17.
Noting there will be 130 million U.S. households by 2020, Cooper urged the FCC to strive to reach 120 million households with ultrafast broadband. He said it is a realistic figure consistent with the agency's push to raise the broadband adoption rate from 65 percent to 90 percent by 2020.
Cooper spoke at a news conference on Capitol Hill in which public-interest groups urged the FCC to include five core goals in its broadband plan, including a broadband adoption rate of 90 percent -- which Genachowski endorsed Tuesday. Other goals, the groups said, should be establishing more competition beyond the cable and telecom duopolies in most markets; tougher consumer protections within 12-18 months; improved data collection standards; and new "nondiscrimination" rules ensuring that any device can be used on any network. To read more, click here. (Subscription required)
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