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FCC Chairman: Americans Shouldn't Subsidize Internet Service Under 10Mbps
An anonymous reader writes On Wednesday at a hearing in front of the US House Committee on Small Business, FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler stated that for ISPs to be eligible for government broadband subsidies, they would have to deliver speeds of at least 10 Mbps. Said Wheeler: "What we are saying is we can't make the mistake of spending the people's money, which is what Universal Service is, to continue to subsidize something that's subpar." He further indicated that he would remedy the situation by the end of 2014. The broadband subsidies are collected through bill surcharges paid for by phone customers.
in urban europe 24mbps is considered subpar; what you yanks have, is frightenly slow.
At this point, the various big ISPs have taken so much taxpayer money, and provided so little in return, that I'd say we should stop providing them with any subsidies, and still require the same level of buildout. They can take the balance out of their execs' bonuses from next quarter—which should be enough to cover a fair amount of infrastructure.
Dan Aris
Fun. Free. Online. RPG. BattleMaster.
Why not put the bar at something a little more reasonable, like 25 Mbps..
Americans shouldn't subsidize internet service, period. What needs to be done is break the monopolies and allow competition.
As much as my libertarian side wants to agree with you, I can't help but notice the positive effects of rural electrification and phone service. Damn you, history and pragmatism.
W..w..W - Willy Waterloo washes Warren Wiggins who is washing Waldo Woo.
because we dont care about them. also... because we are essentially just giving internet companies subsidies. this doesnt actually mean that the end user is recieving ANY of this discount.
There are pros and cons to living anywhere. Cities have great access to all sorts of good and services but can be expensive. Rural areas are much cheaper but have difficult access. Suburban areas are a compromise.
Why tax those that live in high cost cities to pay to provide services to rural areas. Isn't the cheap cost of living in a rural area a natural subside?
I love Jesus, except for his foreign policy.
Cities only work due to their hinterland, obviously one isn't going to see coal mines downtown and whatnot. Even the basics, such as asphalt and concrete, need aggregate which means blasting and quarries. Food is another huge import. Rural areas in the modern world also need cities, they provide a large local market and drive services and development. It's an interplay, they are codependant constructs.
Rural subsidies ensure these inputs exist at reasonable rates. Rural areas often subside things like mass transit through regional governments as well so it's a bit of a two way street.
Yes, but then the cost of living in the city is subsidised by cheap food from the country, and from materials like wood, rock, and metal.
Troll is not a replacement for I disagree.
Because for a person born and raised in America to be unable to afford Internet service (as well as a phone, vehicle, decent shelter, and food) is a shame. Millions of immigrants here — legal and even illegal ones — manage to not only do well for themselves, they are also able to support extended families back home. That's despite the culture shock, not knowing the predominant language very well, and — in many cases — dubious legal status.
But if you feel like continuing the failed "War on Poverty" for another fifty years — go ahead. Just don't force me at gunpoint (via the IRS, that is) to join you.
In Soviet Washington the swamp drains you.
Says the person that can easily afford internet access and all the perks that come with it. In other words, "fuck you; got mine."
How's that internet-free job search going for you? You know - the one where you can at best get online when you can get to a library between working two jobs to pay your bills and trying to get enough sleep to continue to function effectively. Dialup meanwhile is generally going to be not much cheaper after you factor in the cost of getting an otherwise useless phone line: we live in the age where a cell-phone is practically required for normal social interactions.
And seriously - if we're giving handouts to the poor, the kind that give them a better chance to stop being poor are first on my list. Poor people are a drain on the economy, and our economic system is currently tilted strongly against those trying to climb out of poverty. Giving them equal communication capabilities is probably one of the cheapest and most effective ways we can help reduce poverty without directly confronting the wealthy powers that have tilted the board in their own favor.
Now sure, you could argue that broadband is hardly required in order to do such a thing, but if we're subsidizing *something*, this is an excellent opportunity to apply some non-regulatory leverage to the ISPs who have thus far lobbied their way to a pretty posh deal on that front. A government subsidy can represent a massive economic opportunity, and unless deliberately hamstrung(such as Medicare being prohibitted from negotiating lower drug prices like every other insurance provider does) puts the government in a position to be able to economically incentivize socially responsible corporate behavior such as providing quality, socially valuable goods and services with less economic waste.
Maybe you should consider living somewhere else than if you want a career in IT.
A fair point, but I think you should consider something as well: food security.
If a rural place is so backward and so lonely that no one wants to be a farmer, what do you think that will do to food production? Not to mention the simple distastefulness of having barefoot poverty within the US. Sometimes market efficiency has to take a back seat to other priorities.
W..w..W - Willy Waterloo washes Warren Wiggins who is washing Waldo Woo.
Maybe you should consider living somewhere else than if you want a career in IT. Through all of history the characteristics and features of a geographic location have dictated the type of economic activity that goes on there.
Ever wonder why big cities tended to be near rivers or coasts ( at least prior the development of the automobile? ) there is a reason!
Wonder why all those orange groves get planted in Florida and not Maine?
I don't think the point is that the orange groves are in Florida. The point is that you can eat Florida oranges pretty much anywhere in the country if you want them, and there's no good reason not to have broadband everywhere as well. As you said, we didn't stay by the water, we made cars and moved on. I guarantee that you are literally surrounded by things that, at some point in history, would have been unavailable to you because of geography. Thankfully, technology has been steadily overcoming geographic location pretty much since there were such things as technology and geographic location. Now we need to overcome are the gatekeepers and monopolists holding back a service that is vital to our society.
can we address data caps too? Who cares if we have 100 MB access if we're capped a 1 GB?
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