FCC Urges Congress to Pass National Broadband Plan
FCC Urges Congress to Pass National Broadband Plan
Posted 03/16/2010 at 4:44am
| by Paul Lilly
21
Comments
Print
As expected, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) today submitted its National Broadband Plan to congress which, among other things, sets out a goal for at least 100 million U.S. homes to have affordable access to at least 100Mbps downstream and 50Mbps upstream speeds within the next decade.
The plan lists out several other goals, such as making 500MHz of spectrum newly available for broadband within the next 10 year, of which 300MHz would be made available for mobile within the next five years; changing the rules ensure a competitive and innovative video set-top box market; give all communities access to 1Gbps service, which would be targeted at hospitals, government buildings, libraries, and schools; and a whole lot more.
"The number of Americans who have broadband at home has grown from eight million 2000 to nearly 200 million last year," the FCC wrote. "But broadband in America is not all it needs to be. Approximately 100 million Americans do not have broadband at home."
The National Broadband Plan lists out a ton of recommendations and mandates, most of which sound expensive. But rather than tap into Joe Taxpayer's wallet, the FCC expects the "vast majority of recommendations [to] not require new government funding," in part because the 500MHz spectrum auction would offset the potential costs.
Read the entire proposal here, then sound off in the comments section below.
More like this
joel96
March 20, 2010 at 11:46am
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
THIS IS WORST!
Okay, let's start with the first promise. They say
that 200 million Americans have broadband at home. They want to have
100 million more Americans to have broadband at home by 2020. Last time I
checked, the US population is 300 million. Even with expected growth in
population, this pretty much means the government wants 100% of
Americans to have broadband at home. Have they ever heard of "the
boonies?" Some people don't even get mail at home, let alone broadband.
They can't fulfill this promise. They know they can't fulfill it. That's
called "lying," folks.What have I shown you these past months through my shared items?
Big organizations, centralized power, is bad. Google, Microsoft, IBM,
the MPAA, the RIAA, Comcast/Xfinity. They all do bad stuff and get away
with it because they are big. And now the FCC wants to give the ISP
business to the world's biggest, richest organization- the American
federal government. You thought Ma Bell was a nightmare monopoly. Watch
what happens when an organization owns a full third (for starters) of
the telecom business, and can't be sued against by consumers, and can't
be defeated by competition.
Do you realize that the end Internet users will still have to pay
subscription fees, and for your modem, and for overuse fees, and some
sort of green tax? Your won't be freed from your ISP master, you'll have
a new master, one you can never run away from.We'll never know what the Internet could have been, because the
government option will be the only one. Remember back before '95 the
spectacular Internet? Remember how much more awesome it was than the
Internet of today? Yeah, if only the Internet had stayed a project of
the military, run only by the government, we would still have the same
incredibly better network we had back then. Good news though, we'll get
to freeze the Internet in place, just like with the Interstate system
and Amtrak, and not improve it any more than it already is.This is unconstitutional. Where in the constitution does it say the
government is to provide for the common good of everyone? Hey, guess
what, someone already has that job. It's called you and me and the
neighbor next door. We take care of people. The government takes care of
itself. The FCC just wants more jobs and more money. They don't get
elected, they don't get fired, they just stay there until they're older
than Dick Clark and the guy that owns Reupert or whatever news put
together. They have the same corporate structure as any private big
business. It's like the mafia, except they are there by law. It's worse
than Swimming with the Sharks and It's All About Eve.What they'll end up doing is selling the 500MHz spectrum, put the
profits into the general FCC budget, spend it all, and have no money
left. Then they'll levy some sort of fee on users or businesses or a new
tax, and then 10 years later, they'll finally start the project in big
electoral districts, and it will be barely 10Mbps.Is anyone thinking about control of the lines? Censorship,
filtration, bandwidth choking an throttling and caps, file type and
traffic restrictions (including P2P) are all going to be put in place,
and then the private ISPs will be required to do it too (PBS has
supposedly educational content, so every other network has to have it
too). Not to mention monitoring of your activities by the IRS, FBI, and
EPA. Next they'll require your thermostat to be hooked up online
straight through their lines and to the doors of the IRS, so they can
charge you a fee if you set it too high, or maybe the EPA will just set
it how they want.Rules on the set-top box market? What?!? You can't do that! The
market is fine as it is. There's variety in cost and features. This is
just going to change things so that all set-top boxes are slower and
have fewer features and more DRM, that way it will be easier for more
people to get in. The FCC wants to reduce competition by destroying the
market and making the boxes into commodities. One size fits all. Just
like with the analong to digital transition. I'll bet the taxpayer will
fund those too. No, wait, maybe better, the government will make and
sell them.
"Give all communities access to 1Gbps service" This means that
GoverNet will extend even to areas that are already served by one or
more ISPs. They don't want to give access just to areas that have only
satellite access, they want to take over Internet nationwide. Not even
AT&T and Sprint combined have that. Hi Big Brother. They're also
managing expectations already. The 100Gbps number is a lie, only
available under ideal conditions, with all kinds of expensive caveats
that only the big electoral districts and government-friendly big
businesses can afford. This isn't about access for everyone, it's about
more control for the government. We've already heard the claims from
private ISPs that the speeds they advertise are the upper limit of your
speeds, and that your average will be way less. You're willing to
believe the government, that changes leaders and goals every few months?
They even say in the article that the 1Gbps ubiquitous service is
targeted at public places. That could even mean that access for the
"underserved homes" means that those households have to go to the public
places to get the Internet that isn't even 1Gbps. And what do you want
to bet that even that sub-1Gbps that is public is shared amongst
multiple facilities, just like cable connections are shared within a
street or suburb? Know this: 100Mbps will turn into 56Kbps. Be warned.
This whole National Broadband Plan is a dry run for healthcare
insurance bills. It is passed by a regulatory body filled with unelected
good-ole-boy employees without ever seeing a vote to become law. You
let this proposal pass, you lose your Internet and any hope of a better
future for it.
So you want the Internet to be free. All the FCC asks of you is
that you take its place as a captive. You have a choice. Pay for the
Internet with money, or pay for it with money and freedom.
ocnier
March 29, 2010 at 12:19pm
Excellent Post!!!! The sad part is the freaking people don't get it. Here's the news flash guys: "THE GOVERNMENT IS NOT YOUR FRIEND AND IS NOT "OF" THE PEOPLE ANYMORE". It hasn't been that way since Nixon self destructed. I'd laugh if it didn't sadden me in 30 years we'll be like the mexicans now, only it'll be our asses trying to jump the canadian fence line LOL.
darkstorm977
March 16, 2010 at 11:34am
all i got to say is is we need fast internet for cheap prices because other nations such as japan there freaken dial up is like 100megs like wtf rofl were at not even close to number 10 on fastest internet in the world
1. South Korea 17187 kb/s
2. Japan 16,365 kb/s
3. Lithuania 11,295 kb/s
4. Sweden 11,280 kb/s
5. Romania 10,236 kb/s
6. Latvian 9,782 kb/s
7. Bulgaria 9,074 kb/s
8. Netherlands 8,734 kb/s
9. Germany 7,447 kb/s
10.Russian Federation 7,260 kb/s
-.- we need to ramp up our speeds because usa is the best
we do not forgive we do not forget
nHeroGo
March 16, 2010 at 10:04am
Some say that they want people to vote with their wallets. In my case, that would mean selling my house and move one mile down the road, because there is no economic insentive for "the company" to make a lousy 1Mbps available up the dead end. The company would have to make some adjustments to some electrcal box at a station somewhere to make DSL available on my phone line - I live 40 miles outside Seattle by the way, one of the top places in North America. I still have to make due on dial-up. It's been 5 years since I started asking.
Some say that the FCC should not make certain frequences available for internet use because of fear of the FCC policing the transmitted data and fining indecency (a policy that became popular with the Reagan crowd for TV and radio). Instead, they say that the customers will eventually shout loud enough to make the company invest in new infrastructure instead of using parts of available infrastructure, or the customers will eventually do something about it. Well, isn't that where the FCC Plan comes in? Isn't that why it is being formed (slowly)?
Sonickid101
March 16, 2010 at 8:58am
I think a private sector network with support from the government in terms of giving these ISP's amnesty from the actions of thier users similar to the telecom industy would work just fine. I've always considered a phone and network connection a luxury in additioin to the luxury of owning a computer. We don't need it to live but we do. but doing this makes the government able to control it similar to the way the FCC controls the radio spectrum and TV. I rather like having decentralized unfettered access to what I can and cannot download at speeds that I more or less choose with my wallet. Media delivered through systems based on subscriptions ironically tends to be more free to provide the message unaltered than through government controlled spectrums, Cable vs Network TV things can be shown and said on cable that cannot be shown over the airwaves, Sattellite radio vs AM/FM Howard stern has a home on satellite and not over the airwaves because of this.
Hangdog42
March 16, 2010 at 8:56am
Lets see, government run enterprises that work:
Airports
Roads
Libraries
Medicare (have yet to see anyone volunteering to give theirs up)
Water
Sewer
Now lets look at the state of Internet access in America. We're usuallly ranked well out of the top 10 on the planet. Lets see, who controls the Internet in the US. Oh, thats right, its private companies. Yeah "We're #30" is a great slogan. Keep chanting it while all the private companies providing internet access milk your wallet dry and give you nothing.
ocnier
March 16, 2010 at 12:35pm
Airports- hmmm 6 of the last 10 have had baggage issues that i have been to. The lines for screeners are a joke (god forbid hiring more or being to fire the ones that suck aka see unions/govt employee protected status). Oh and good luck trying to expand a system that is long overdue for an overhaul. As for the controllers, a lot a systems are still using systems from the 1970s. Also that government your so in love with has decimated the private flyers (no not all of them are millionares jackass, a lot of the planes are co-owned by 3 or more middle class owners, the airports bring in revenue but the gov't doesn't give them squat, check the AOPA site sometime). SO MUCH FOR GOVERNMENT EFFICIENCY....
Roads- Take a drive thru lousiana some time jackass, you haven't seen bad roads till you hit louisiana. Edwin Edwards (the former governor) embellzed millions from the highway dept which is one of the largest government organizations in that state. Blago of Illinois is under pending investigation for kick backs for highway dept with record waste. I don't even want to begin to talk about California. Just try doing a control burn there to control forrest fires in california- every f*cking tree hugging liberal nut comes out of the wood work for 30 miles around, but then they complain when their house burns to the ground and it ends up on CNN. SO MUCH FOR GOVERNMENT EFFICIENCY........
Libraries- I cut a pass on the institutions themselves. They truly fight the good fight in terms of serving the public, but why is it they are the first on the chopping block in a majority of states for cut backs. They provide some of the most bang for the buck, but are the first to be killed. SO MUCH FOR GOVERNMENT EFFICIENCY........
Medicare- OMFG!!!! I work in health care. Medicare and medicaid are unfunded as is. News flash jackass, take out a phone book and pick a specialty (ENT, Gen Surg, Ortho, etc...) call around and compare the list that accepts medicaid and and medicare. Let me know how that works out for ya, lol. As for the surgeons themselves, i had one say to me reference Obama care coming- "bring it on. That means without financial incentives i can work less and actually have time for my family f*ck'em. Ya, i'll get your gall bladder out..... in about six months..... Ya i maybe driving a nice car right now, but i'm driving it to work assholes. :: in reference to the public:: Let me know how that works out for ya..." Oh, btw if that comment coming from a Doc doesn't scare you for the future then your an idiot. SO MUCH FOR GOVERNMENT EFFICIENCY......
Water and Sewer: Last time i checked, 90% of my water bill was sewer disposal which is highly obscence (and i live in a recycling community to boot- last time I checked aluminum is valuable but there's no discount for it on my bill) Oh and btw if you check the census data comparison of decades our water quality is going down. This enterprise is run and ensured almost entirely thru the federal and state government. SO MUCH FOR GOVERMENT EFFICIENCY......
Don't get me wrong, i'm no fan of the enron's or bernie madoff's of the world, but at least they were stopped and are serving time for their wrongs. The federal government is still hard at work stealing and wasting your money at this very moment! At least the private sector has some hope. For example Google is seeking to become its power purveyor, why because the the government run providers infrastructure isn't reliable enough and is stupid expensive. Hmmm...... I think i'll take my chances with the private sector even with evil corps like enron or crooks like bernie. At least in the private sector they are the miniority. SO MUCH FOR GOVERNMENT EFFICIENCY......
Hangdog42
March 16, 2010 at 3:12pm
Lets see, baggage handlers are employees of private companies moron. SO MUCH FOR PRIVATE EFFICIENCY....
Roads - Lousiana is dumb enough to elect a crook and then you are dumb enough to blame governement in general for the fact that people voted for a known crook? SO MUCH FOR LOUISIANA
Libraries - I stand firm, they work well. They may be the first under the gun, but the next private library I see will be the first even though they are crowded with people. SO MUCH FOR PRIVATE EFFICIENCY......
Medicare - I'm still waiting for someone to voluntairly give up their Medicare. Anyone. In the meantime, private insurers have provided us with the worst health care in the industrialized world. Oh, and it is the most expensive too. SO MUCH FOR PRIVATE EFFICIENCY.......
Water and Sewer - Funny, most people see water and sewer hookups as adding value to their homes, while those nice private wells and septics systems dont. SO MUCH FOR PRIVATE EFFICIENCY....
And as for the financial crooks, almost none of them have been caught. Enron and Bernie are outnumbered by the ones still on the loose by orders of magnitude. AIG makes Enron look like a total amateur, but dumbass rednecks still think Enron is the beginning and the end of corporate crime. On a bad day the governement employs millions fewer crooks than Wall Street. SO MUCH FOR PRIVATE EFFICIENCY
Dumbass.
mesiah
March 16, 2010 at 9:17pm
Both of you are getting a little carried away, but hangdog, most of your points don't even make sense. You are the one that listed airports as being government run. And yes, part of the baggage handling process is done by private individuals, but its the TSA that has been causing the majority of problems lately with their "its not our fault no matter what" policy.
As for roads, you just shot yourself in the foot. You can't back the government and then when it fails say "its not governments fault its your fault for electing them." On that subject you are just wrong.
On medicare your argument is idiotic. Just because people have no other choice than to use medicare doesn't make it a good choice. If all you can afford to eat is bread and water and I come along and say "If you don't like it, then don't eat it." Something tells me you are going to keep eating it because you need it to survive. Your logic on that argument is flawed. Go ask anyone on medicare if they would take something better if they could afford it. I am sure the answers will be different.
As for the rest of the arguments, I got tired of watching you two call each other morons so I stopped reading.
Carlidan
March 16, 2010 at 9:03pm
Good job Handdo42. But there is no point arguing with people who listen to Rush and Glen Beck.They are the far right nut bags you see in television. I'm sick of tired of the Republicans stoping legislation so they can f**king win elections. And Democrats have no f**king balls. I hope they will get some healthcare legislation will get throgh with the up and down vote.
“Animals, whom we have made our slaves, we do not like to consider our equal.”
nekollx
March 16, 2010 at 12:35pm
they might be the miority in other field but in broadband their the majority. I hope for goggle because the broadband telcom need a swift kick in the pocketbook...and by pocket book i mean "safe deposit box"
------------------------------
Coming soon to Lulu.com --Tokusatsu Heroes--
Five teenagers, one alien ghost, a robot, and the fate of the world.
nekollx
March 16, 2010 at 9:03am
hey that's slander....
we're only 17th
------------------------------
Coming soon to Lulu.com --Tokusatsu Heroes--
Five teenagers, one alien ghost, a robot, and the fate of the world.
da_samman
March 16, 2010 at 8:51am
I concur wholeheartedly, although I have to say that America is SEVERELY behind the power curve internationally (we're rated 17th by my last understanding) and most of the ISPs are either too cheap or lazy to start running a fiber backbone, much less fiber to the house, and then they have the b*lls to say there is no market for it?!?! BULLSH*T!! I can think of several areas that would benefit - legal downloads(think mainly software purchasing over the Internet as well as updates), online gaming, streaming media (Youtube, Hulu, etc.), Netflix downloads, the list goes on.
Also, remember, the FCC are the same people who declared that radio and television were not protected by the free speech provisions of the 1st amendment of the Constitution. They're the same people who kept repeatedly fining Howard Stern and pushed him to satellite radio (which I applaud him for).
We do NOT need them to force all ISPs to improve their broadband capabilities. When the American people (their customers) start complaining enough, stop patronizing the ISPs who won't deploy FIOS (Comcast, I'm looking at you), and move onto those who are doing so (Verizon), maybe the rest of the ISPs will get on the bandwagon to get their customers back. If I could get FIOS where I live and at an affordable price, BELIEVE me I would.
Sincerely yours, from Fort Lewis, WA
SGT Samuel E. McClard II
Life's a journey, enjoy the ride!!
mesiah
March 16, 2010 at 9:33pm
I had a nice post with plenty of insight, but after altering it several times to try and get it past the spam filter I gave up. Farewell maxpc, I'm going somewhere that I can actually post without the spam nazi shutting me down.
ocnier
March 16, 2010 at 8:26am
They would auction the spectrum, the money would be used to help pay the IOU's to social security (THAT ARE COMING DUE NOW!) and then we would all still end up getting the f*ck taxed out of us for the shitty goverment government broadband (oh btw name me one enterprise by the US government in the last 20 years that was run efficiently). California right now is the goddamn f*cking poster child for what happens with too many social services, too much government bureacracy, and high taxation coupled with high waste- (hmm gotta love liberals..... not). I left it for TX a while back (3 years ago) for austin and dallas, thank god for that. I just checked with my relatives in So Cal (who coincidently didn't overspend on their house and make their mortage payements). They just told me people are now clamoring for principal reduction (what a f*cking joke!). This just helps to devalue their property even further (and they didn't do anything wrong btw.....). No, more government intervention is the wrong answer. Don't get me wrong i hate comcrap and AT&T failboat as much as anyone, but they are nothing compared to the godd*mn federal government right now. If you let the government in as a major player in terms of regulation in this sector then we all need to prepare to get butt f*cked really hard...... epic fail!!
ebeale
March 16, 2010 at 6:51am
I think this should stay in the hands of the private sector. We don’t need the government regulating and controlling the internet. This must be there answer to colleting sales tax on web purchases.
nekollx
March 16, 2010 at 8:46am
so you think its better for provate companies to keep imposing more strick cap, limits, and rising costs while raking in recordbreaking profits year after year and then claiming "increasing bandwith would be to exxxxxxpppppeeeennnssssiiivvvvveeeeeeeeeeeeeee"
------------------------------
Coming soon to Lulu.com --Tokusatsu Heroes--
Five teenagers, one alien ghost, a robot, and the fate of the world.
Connect with MaximumPC
Featured Content
We introduce Intel's latest class of tablet killers and review 4 of the first Ultra...
Where have all the memorable videogame enemies gone?
This month's issue
Feature
11 Hardware Hacks
Feature
Overclock Your CPU
How-To
Supercharge Your Smartphone
Build It
A Powerful $830 Rig
Most Commented Articles
Latest Max PC Tweets
- maximumpc: Analysts: 9-Inch Kindle Fire This Summer http://t.co/QDYApwCZ1 day 1 hour ago
- maximumpc: Micron: DRAM Prices Likely as Low as They're Going to Get http://t.co/fFUWuFOm1 day 4 hours ago
- maximumpc: Yar, Mateys! All Of Pirate Bay Made Available As A Single 90MB Zip File http://t.co/j5LHlXEZ1 day 6 hours ago
