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FCC Gets Go-Ahead For Plan To Expand Rural Internet Access

Posted by timothy on from the we-call-them-the-hinterlands dept.

The FCC's plan to use fees collected from big telecom companies to expand Internet infrastructure in rural parts of the U.S. was given a green light yesterday in Denver, by the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals. Those telecoms maintained that the FCC's mandate did not extend to using the money to pay for Internet service, but a three-judge panel dismissed their challenge. From The Verge: "The FCC originally pitched the program as part of the Universal Service Fund in 2011, noting in a report a year earlier that approximately 14 million people did not have access to broadband. The Connect America Fund aimed to use a portion of customer bills in other areas of the country to build out broadband infrastructure, including cellular data networks in those areas. That would begin with $300 million at the start, and up to $500 million as part of an annual budget."

4 of 156 comments (clear)

  1. Yes! by jest3r · · Score: 5, Funny

    The FCC is soooo awesome for doing this!

    Finally they stood up to the telecoms and now I trust them completely to ensure that the Internet will be free, open and available to everyone.

    I've never understood the hate as of late.

    1. Re:Yes! by Charliemopps · · Score: 5, Insightful

      The FCC is soooo awesome for doing this!

      Indeed. I am so grateful that the FCC required me to pay more in order to subsidize the lifestyle choices of other people.

      I've never understood the hate as of late.

      Me neither. This is such a wonderful country. It would be so unfair if people were expected to deal with the consequences of their own decisions without coerced assistance from people that made more sensible choices.

      Those "other people" are generally poor, and didn't chose to live where they do. We're not talking about the dude that lives in the estate outside of town... he'd just get a cellular modem. Most of the people without internet service today are in the rural south, appalachia, the rocky mountains, Indian reservations (the ones that didn't sell out to the casino gods), the dakotas, etc...

      I understand that slahdotters are generally "me me me" but give me a fucking break. The small increase you'll see on your phone bill will pale in comparison to the increase later in your income taxes as all "those other people" go on welfare because they can't even access their local jobs website and there's no such thing as newspapers anymore. Crawl out of your miopic hole and view the world from somewhere more than 50ft from your doorstep.

    2. Re:Yes! by whistlingtony · · Score: 5, Insightful

      I take offense at that "sensible choices" crack. It's a really !@#$ing annoying myth that poor people are poor due to their own choices. I know a lot of poor people that work WAY harder than you ever will. I grew up dirt poor. I got help from the government with food, education, etc. I got lucky, and made it, and I've payed back what I took in help, and then some...

      You're basically just putting other people down, and doing so against people you don't like. It's a sterotype, and a myth, and your attitude says more about your lack of empathy than it does about those non existant people that "didn't make sensible choices and don't want to deal with the consequences".

      I'm old enough to see that a VAST majority of people make pretty shitty decisions all the time, and that pretty much everyone has no idea how to live their lives. Everyone's making it up as they go along. Naturally, all of YOUR decisions are excellent ones, I'm sure. You've never had help from anyone in your whole life when things didn't work out.

      It's always "those people" over there that are ruining everything.

  2. Ahh the real reason Net Neutrality is built by Billly+Gates · · Score: 5, Funny

    Fed: Here is some tax payer money. Now promise you will use it for rural Iowa where people pay $300 a month for a 640kb connection.

    ISP: Oh yeah we promise. Thanks Uncle Sam!

    Fed: Uh 3 years has happened where is the new infrastructure that the hard working tax payers paid for?

    ISP: NO! We do not want to spend it. Screw you! We gave it to the CEO and shareholders so we could keep our bonuses.

    Fed: What?! We had a deal. Why aren't you ...

    ISP: Oh look at that ... big Ku CLUNG and a huge bag of money lands ... I was wondering what happened with that money that the tax payers gave us. It appears to be on your desk sir

    FED: Oh then I see. Hmm perhaps we need a real expert to hear your case then. Someone with close ties and is on your payroll to tell us you need to steal more tax payer money?

    ISP: Ahh good idea. Hire me. I work as a lobbyest and as you know I am quite clumsy and keep dropping these bags of free speech everywhere I go too. Oh boy got to watch that.

    Fed: LOL. Ok we can't keep giving you money though. So what can we do

    ISP: I know lets rip off other people then. You see we charge too much as it is and we also charge people who want to host and stream. What if we tripple charge all over the place. Then more bags of free speech might just keep falling out if I am not careful.

    Fed: Praise Obama and worship Henry Reid so I can keep my job after 2014 and you have a deal!

    ISP: Got it ... shakes hands

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