The new broadband era: A 100 Mb/s universal service in the USA [Global Communications Newsletter]

摘要

To provide universal Internet access to U.S. citizens, the FCC presented an ambitious plan to Congress in March 2010 [1]. According to this plan, about 100 million American citizens without access to broadband service are to be provided 100 Mb/s connectivity by 2020. The main target of the FCC plan is to make this service affordable to rural and low income urban areas, thereby ensuring universal service in a way similar to the service provided by the European Union to its citizens. An intermediate goal of the FCC plan will be to provide 50 Mb/s connectivity to 100 million households by 2015. Provision of 1 Gb/s connectivity to institutions such as schools, hospitals, and government buildings is presented as a long-term goal.