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By Maggie Shiels
Technology reporter, BBC News, Silicon Valley
US regulators have unveiled the nation's first plan to give every American
super-fast broadband by 2020.
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC), which will now submit the plan to
Congress, said broadband was the "greatest infrastructure challenge".
It estimates that one-third of Americans, about 100 million people, are without
broadband at home.
The FCC's goal is to provide speeds of 100 megabits per second (mbps), compared
to an average 4mbps now.
"Broadband for every American is not too ambitious a plan and it is absolutely
necessary," former FCC Chairman Reed Hundt told BBC News.
"The consequences of not succeeding are heartbreaking. Every nation needs a
common medium to gather around and to have the internet as a common medium
where a third are left out is unacceptable."
'Silver bullet'
In an executive summary released ahead of the presentation to Congress on 16
March, the FCC said "broadband is a foundation for economic growth, job
creation, global competitiveness and a better way of life.
The devil is in the detail and right now it's all fairy wings and wishes
Rob Enderle, Enderle Group
"It is changing how we educate children, deliver health care, manage energy,
ensure public safety, engage government, and access, organise, and disseminate
knowledge".
For industry analyst Erik Sherman of business and news site BNet.com, all the
talk "sounds like an overstatement".
"The plan cannot be a silver bullet for all these issues and problems which
exist for a number of different reasons and not just because of a lack of
broadband.
"The plan is very big in scope and if you look at the rationale, the FCC is
basically saying we need more money for more internet. I am not saying we don't
need a broadband plan but we have to be realistic about what it can and cannot
do," Mr Sherman told BBC News.
'Fairy wings and wishes'
Months of hype and speculation has preceded the presentation of the country's
first comprehensive broadband roadmap. The FCC has also held a series of
briefings previewing its goals.
"It's an action plan, and action is necessary to meet the challenges of global
competitiveness, and harness the power of broadband to help address so many
vital national issues," said FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski.
The executive summary revealed that access to high-speed internet services have
grown dramatically from eight million Americans 20 years ago to nearly 200
million today.
Estimates to implement the plan have been put at $350bn ( 233bn). How that bill
will be split between private investment and tax dollars is not known.
"Who pays and how much is the big fight ahead," said technology industry
analyst Rob Enderle of the Enderle Group.
"The devil is in the detail and right now it's all fairy wings and wishes. The
Republicans are going to fight anything that is excessively expensive while the
Democrats have to be wary of looking like they are cutting cheques at a time
when the government is for the most part broke."
The FCC will auction off some 500 megahertz of spectrum to pay for some of the
expense. More than $7bn will come from President Obama's 2009 stimulus package
which targeted broadband-related initiatives.
'Digital exclusion'
For years the technology industry has pushed for the US government to create a
national broadband plan.
Ahead of today's meeting with Congress, a number of high tech companies wrote
to FCC Chairman Genachowski to praise the plan.
"Broadband is critical to America's long-term economic and social well-being.
As society increasingly moves online, the costs of digital exclusion grow as
well," said the signatories of the letter which included Cisco, Sony,
Salesforce, Microsoft, Facebook and Intel.
One possible battleground is expected to be over the sale of spectrum that is
mostly in the hands of television broadcasters.
Mobile carriers like AT&T and Verizon have said they will need more spectrum in
future to provide superfast reliable internet connections to every customer.
"The problem is most of the spectrum is occupied by somebody else. They are
going to want a lot of money for this," said Adam Thierer, president of the
free-market leaning Progress & Freedom Foundation.
Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/technology/8569157.stm
Published: 2010/03/16 09:36:21 GMT