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White House, FCC Unveil 5G Push and $20B Fund For Rural Broadband (cnet.com)
The White House on Friday will unveil a new 5G push to position the US ahead of global rivals in the race to deploy the next-generation wireless technology. President Donald Trump and Federal Communications Chairman Ajit Pai will announce new airwaves auctions and plans to spend $20.4 billion over 10 years on rural broadband. From a report: The FCC will auction off three segments of millimeter-wave spectrum -- which can offer insane data speeds but has limited range -- for commercial use. The auction is scheduled for December, FCC Chairman Ajit Pai said on a conference call with reporters ahead of the White House event. He said the FCC plans to auction off 3,400 MHz of spectrum in three different high-frequency bands. "This will be the largest spectrum auction in American history," he said. Pai went onto say that this auction, along with others planned for the future, are putting the US on a good path. "The US is well-positioned to take a lead in 5G," he said.
The FCC is also announcing the Rural Digital Opportunity Fund. The agency plans to reallocate $20.4 billion from its Universal Service Fund over the next 10 years to subsidize eligible companies to build out broadband infrastructure in underserved areas. The money will be allocated to internet service providers that can provide a minimum of 25 megabit per second downloads in areas that are currently in need of connectivity, Pai said. He added that the new infrastructure will also help bring 5G to these rural areas. "There are a number of startups that are working on millimeter wave technology to bring 5G to rural America," he said on the call.
The FCC is also announcing the Rural Digital Opportunity Fund. The agency plans to reallocate $20.4 billion from its Universal Service Fund over the next 10 years to subsidize eligible companies to build out broadband infrastructure in underserved areas. The money will be allocated to internet service providers that can provide a minimum of 25 megabit per second downloads in areas that are currently in need of connectivity, Pai said. He added that the new infrastructure will also help bring 5G to these rural areas. "There are a number of startups that are working on millimeter wave technology to bring 5G to rural America," he said on the call.
It's much more expensive to do that in underserved / rural areas, and that's exactly what the Universal Service Fund was designed to help with.
While I'm no supporter of a lot of Republican policies, I'm actually with them on this one. According to the original article, they're planning on reallocating those funds from the Universal Service Fund - and this sort of thing (getting telecom services to underserved / rural areas) is exactly what the USF was intended to help with.
The fact is, that the USF already exists, and unless the laws change, it's not going away. So why not use it for its intended purpose?
As far as market forces doing it better and cheaper, they haven't. The very fact that even Republicans at this point are advocating use of the fund for helping with some of the costs bears that out.
worse--
The telecom industries were paid handsomely in the 90s to roll out a next generation fiber optic backbone infrastructure.
They laid a very small amount of fiber, and pocketed the rest of the money, then shrugged when asked where the money went.
https://www.techdirt.com/artic...
I see this all over again. Especially with Pai at the helm of the FCC.
It certainly is, but I would look very closely at the agreement before signing off on it.
I remember the 90s, and the 200bn that got wasted because the telecoms wanted a handout on government dimes.
Poaching the USF with promises of what it is supposed to be used for, without actually delivering, is the actual track record here.
I would only support this kind of deal if there were strong liabilities for failure to deliver. I am talking board and CEO jail time levels of liability here.