FCC Plan for Expanding Broadband Access Carves Niche for Satellites

摘要

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is calling for investments of tens of billions of dollars over the next decade to extend broadband communications to Americans who lack access to the service and to develop an emergency communications network that would rely, at least in part, on satellite communications.rnIn its 360-page National Broadband Plan presented to Congress March 16, the FCC states that 7 million U.S. households do not have access to high-speed Internet service and suggests allocating as much as $15.5 billion over 10 years to ensure that all Americans can obtain a basic level of voice and broadband communications, which the FCC defines as download speeds of at least 4 megabits bits per second.