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New EU Rules Promise 100Mbps Broadband and Free Wi-Fi For All (arstechnica.com)
An anonymous reader writes: The European Commission has promised free Wi-Fi in every town, village, and city in the European Union, in the next four years. A new grant, with a total budget of 120 million euro, will allow public authorities to purchase state-of-the art equipment, for example a local wireless access point. If approved by the the European Parliament and national ministers the cash could be available before the end of next year. The commission has also set a target for all European households to have access to download speeds of at least 100Mbps by 2025, and has redefined Internet access as a so-called universal service, while removing obligations for old universal services such as payphones. It also envisions fully deploying 5G, the fifth generation of mobile communication systems, across the European Union by 2025. Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker made reference to many of these proposals while also promising to abolish roaming once and for all in his "State of the European Union" address on Wednesday morning.
Tax payers, so the people getting it. I already have 100 Mb/s fiber but it's ok to give it to others. Furthermore with 100 Mb/s everywhere I could start thinking to move into the countryside. What I don't understand is: only 120 M Euro? That's 20 cents per person so it's easy on taxpayers but is it enough to buy and operate the infrastructure?
90% of the U.S. will likely have > 1000Mbps by 2025, so most of us will be 10x ahead.
Stupid sexy Flanders.
It's quite astonishing that spastics haven't worked out that every fucking cunt knows free means free at the point of use, no cunt in the whole of fucking Europe is labouring under any other understanding
I take it you haven't been to Northern Europe? The Nordic countries have decent consumer rights legislation so mobile operators must provide the same service everywhere, if they wish to have a license for areas with (by their metrics) "high" population density. You can really get 4G in the middle of nowhere there with no monthly cap and dirt cheap.
No rose colored glasses, and I'm a US citizen who has travelled to EU countries frequently. No place is perfect, I just know from personal direct observation travelling in EU and closely associated countries like Switzerland that in exchange for the higher taxes that roads, public transit, education, health care and other government services are in an entirely different (better) realm of quality than what we get here in the US. You get what you pay for.
The USA currently lags behind the EU in connection speeds. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_Internet_connection_speeds
The EU is planning to increase speeds. Do you really think the US will suddenly be 10x ahead of the EU? Through the limitless power of wishful thinking perhaps?
USA won't beat the EU until the last-mile monopoly is broken.