Thursday, May 15, 2014

FCC reports contradict ISP claims that build out requirement would deter infrastructure investment

Broadband CEOs to FCC: We're not a utility - CNET: The main argument from the CEOs is that reclassifying broadband services so that they're regulated like the telephone network rather than the light regulatory approach the FCC currently takes with the Internet would kill future investment in broadband networks. They argue that the current regulatory framework is why broadband and wireless companies invest more than $60 billion a year in their networks. They claim this more than $1.2 trillion investment over the years has resulted in great improvements in broadband networks every year.
If this is in fact true, consider that the U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) found insufficient deployment of Internet infrastructure in annual progress reports mandated by the 1996 Telecommunications Act. In 2011, the FCC concluded a "significant and persistent deployment gap" in Internet telecommunications infrastructure deprives as many as 26 million Americans of Internet access.

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