Broadband universal service
Encyclopedia
Broadband universal service, also known as "universal broadband service", refers to government efforts to ensure all citizens have access to Internet service
. Whether traditional universal voice service plans should be expanded to include broadband service has been in discussion for several years in various countries, such as the United States, Finland, UK, Spain, Japan, Singapore, and Taiwan.
Finland was the first country in the world to provide broadband universal service. Taiwan started broadband universal service in 2007. The British government plans to make broadband available to every household by 2012. The United States has proposed measures that would make broadband available to all citizens.
was introduced in the early twentieth century. In many countries, such as the UK, United States, and Taiwan, voice telephony services
have had subsidies for rural or poor customers.
, who proposed a policy based on “one system, one policy, universal service.” Universal service mainly refers to “Government policies to promote the affordability of telephone
service and access to the network.”
Universal service advocates say ubiquitous communications infrastructures can enhance national unity and equality of opportunity. Therefore, it could be a way to express ”liberal egalitarianism
.” The Telecommunications Act of 1996
required the U.S. Federal Communications Commission
(FCC) to promote all citizens be able to access advanced telecommunication services at a reasonable price. These services mainly included voice telephony services, both the fixed lines and wireless phones.
The goals of universal Service, as mandated by the 1996 Act, were to:
has a technical meaning, in public policy discussions it means Internet access
at higher rates than obsolete dial-up Internet access.
mentioned: “one key to strengthening education, entrepreneurship, and innovation in communities… is to harness the full power of the Internet, and that means faster and more widely available broadband.” (Obama, 2009) The government claimed widespread broadband access is critical for global competitiveness, economic development, national security, public safety, job creation, civic engagement, etc.
in 2009 (N=50,000, unit: household), people with high incomes, those who are younger, more highly-educated, Asians and Whites, and the employed, have higher rates of broadband use at home. People with low incomes, minorities, seniors, the less-educated, and the non-employed tend to have lower rates of broadband use at home. Besides, there are rural/urban differences as well. People in rural areas are less likely to adopt the Internet.
According to NTIA (2011), almost one-third of American households still lack a broadband connection. “The rates for White (68%) and Asian non-Hispanics (69%) exceed those for Black non-Hispanics (50%) and Hispanics (45%) by 18 percentage points or more. Rural America lags behind urban areas by ten percentage points (60% versus 70%).” There is obvious digital divide among different ethnic groups and between rural and urban areas.
("digital split"). Digital divide refers to “the differing amount of information between those who have access to the Internet
(specially broadband access) and those who do not have access. The term became popular among concerned parties, such as scholars, policy makers, and advocacy groups, in the late 1990s.” Digital divide is not just about the access to the Internet, but the quality of connection, and the related service availability.
, January 25, 2011
NTIA (2010) also pointed out, "universal access to and adoption of 21st Century broadband for all citizens is a top priority for the Obama Administration. Widespread access is critical to America’s future as the world’s economic leader because of its impact on increasing our productivity, global competitiveness, and improving Americans’ quality of life – through economic growth and development, job creation, national security, telemedicine, distance learning, public safety, civic engagement, and telework."
ing efficiently and effectively." How could the regulator ensure the cost proposed by the operators is true and reasonable? In the National Broadband Plan, the FCC planned to eliminate the rate-of-return regulation in the Universal Service Fund (USF). This may result in the uncertainty of profits to ILECs and decrease their incentives to provide broadband universal service.
report published in 2009, "broadband connections should be available to all under a "Universal Service Commitment" similar to BT's obligation to make fixed-line telephone services available to everyone."
. Arguments regarding the National Broadband Plan are also related to broadband universal service debates.
The US National Broadband Plan
was released by the FCC in March 2010. The agency started the process of creating this plan in April 2009. After holding thirty-six public workshop
s and stream
ed online, with more than 10,000 people and 700 parties participated, 23,000 comments were generated. The FCC filed about 13,000 pages and held nine public hearings to refine and clarify the plan and proposed it in 2010.
The plan mentions many potential policies. For example, the federal government intended to make 500 MHz of spectrum available to promote wireless broadband. It proposed the "Connect America Fund (CAF) to support the provision of affordable broadband and voice with at least 4 Mbps actual download speeds and shift up to $15.5 billion over the next decade from the existing Universal Service Fund (USF) program to support broadband".
(NPRM) for what it called the "once-in-a-generation transformation" of the Universal Service Fund (USF).
According to the National Broadband Plan, the FCC planned to make 4 megabits per second download speeds and 1 mbps upload speed available to all Americans by 2020. To support this, two funds will be created: the Connect America Fund (CAF) and the Mobility Fund. The CAF will replace high cost programs in USF but will only provide funds to areas where there is no private operator willing to provide broadband service for a lack of profitability. The Mobility Fund will mainly focus on the wireless internet. access.
There are three stages in the plan. The first stage aims to set up the overall policymaking apparatus. In this stage, the Universal Service Fund transform from telephone service support to broadband service support. The Connect American Fund and the Mobility Fund will be created in the first stage. In the second stage, scheduled for 2012-2016, these two new funds will distribute the funds they have collected. Broadband services will be taxed to support the funds. In the third stage, scheduled in 2017-2020, the USF will be discontinued.
In February 2011, the FCC adopted an NPRM and Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (FNPRM) to ask for comments on reforming the Universal Service Fund and the Commission’s intercarrier compensation (ICC). The FCC planned workshops to discuss the reforms. The first workshop was held on February 17, 2011. The second workshop was held on April 27, 2011 and the main theme was related to the implementation of a Phase I of the Connect America Fund (CAF), including the costs and capabilities of broadband technologies and the use of the funds in Phase I of the CAF.
On October 27, 2011, the FCC adopted its "Connect America Fund & Intercarrier Compensation Reform Order" which established a $4.5 billion Connect America Fund to expand broadband access to seven million unserved rural Americans, replacing the Universal Service Fund's high-cost support and explicitly endorsing broadband as a universal service. The Connect America Fund also includes $500 million for mobile broadband, of which $100 million is set aside for mobile broadband on tribal lands.
On November 9, 2011, the Connect-to-Compete program was announced. Businesses and non-profit groups will work together to provide broadband access for low-income people in the United States. 35 million households, about one-third of the total, many of them poor, do not have the service. Persons without broadband have a harder time finding jobs using the Internet.
By Summer 2012, homes in which children qualify for the federal school lunch program
will become eligible for $9.95 broadband service. Also as part of the program, Microsoft
will also sell PCs with Office Suite
for $250.
(NCC) set up the goal to offer Internet access services with a speed of 2 megabytes per second (Mbps)to every village in Taiwan to shorten the digital divide between urban and rural areas. This universal service mandate was supported by the Telecommunication Universal Service Fund. More than fifty remote villages which did not have broadband service are able to access broadband. The NCC aimed to further broadband access to more rural areas in 2011.
Atkinson, R. D. (2009). Role of Competition in a National Broadband Policy.
Bauer, J. M. & Kim, J. H. (2003). Broadband uptake in OECD countries: Policy lessons from comparative statistical analysis.
Bauer, J.M., DeMaagd, K., Wildman, S., & Yook, S. Michigan’s Communication Infrastructure Needs: Assessment and Policy Options. East Lansing: Michigan State University, 2009.
Berkman Center (2009). Next generation connectivity: A review of broadband Internet transitions and policy from around the world.
Cava-Ferreruela (2006). Broadband policy assessment: A cross-national empirical analysis. Telecommunications Policy.
Cherry, B. A., Wildman, S. S., Hammond, A. S. (Ed.) (1999). Making universal service policy: Enhancing the process through multidisciplinary evaluation.
Federal-State Joint Board on Universal Service. http://www.fcc.gov/wcb/tapd/universal_service/JointBoard/
Ford, G. S. (2007). The broadband performance index: a policy-relevant method of comparing broadband adoption among countries. http://www.phoenix-center.org/pcpp/PCPP29Final.doc
Gillett, S. The Connect America Fund and Intercarrier Compensation Reform Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, presentation at the Silicon Flatirons Conference, Boulder, CO, February 13, 2011.
Nuechterlein, J. E. & Weiser, P. J. (2005). Digital crossroads: American telecommunications policy in the Internet age. MIT: Cambridge.
President Obama, State of the Union Address, January 25, 2011 (Video) http://www.whitehouse.gov/state-of-the-union-2011
Wu, T. (2005). Broadband Debate, A User's Guide. http://heinonline.org/HOL/Page?handle=hein.journals/jtelhtel3&div=9&g_sent=1&collection=journals
Internet access
Many technologies and service plans for Internet access allow customers to connect to the Internet.Consumer use first became popular through dial-up connections in the 20th century....
. Whether traditional universal voice service plans should be expanded to include broadband service has been in discussion for several years in various countries, such as the United States, Finland, UK, Spain, Japan, Singapore, and Taiwan.
Finland was the first country in the world to provide broadband universal service. Taiwan started broadband universal service in 2007. The British government plans to make broadband available to every household by 2012. The United States has proposed measures that would make broadband available to all citizens.
Universal service history
The term universal serviceUniversal service
Universal service is an economic, legal and business term used mostly in regulated industries, referring to the practice of providing a baseline level of services to every resident of a country...
was introduced in the early twentieth century. In many countries, such as the UK, United States, and Taiwan, voice telephony services
Plain old telephone service
Plain old telephone service is the voice-grade telephone service that remains the basic form of residential and small business service connection to the telephone network in many parts of the world....
have had subsidies for rural or poor customers.
Mandates in the United States
In the United States, the notion of universal service was initially advocated by Theodore Vail, the vice president of AT&TAT&T
AT&T Inc. is an American multinational telecommunications corporation headquartered in Whitacre Tower, Dallas, Texas, United States. It is the largest provider of mobile telephony and fixed telephony in the United States, and is also a provider of broadband and subscription television services...
, who proposed a policy based on “one system, one policy, universal service.” Universal service mainly refers to “Government policies to promote the affordability of telephone
Telephone
The telephone , colloquially referred to as a phone, is a telecommunications device that transmits and receives sounds, usually the human voice. Telephones are a point-to-point communication system whose most basic function is to allow two people separated by large distances to talk to each other...
service and access to the network.”
Universal service advocates say ubiquitous communications infrastructures can enhance national unity and equality of opportunity. Therefore, it could be a way to express ”liberal egalitarianism
Egalitarianism
Egalitarianism is a trend of thought that favors equality of some sort among moral agents, whether persons or animals. Emphasis is placed upon the fact that equality contains the idea of equity of quality...
.” The Telecommunications Act of 1996
Telecommunications Act of 1996
The Telecommunications Act of 1996 was the first major overhaul of United States telecommunications law in nearly 62 years, amending the Communications Act of 1934. This Act, signed by President Bill Clinton, was a major stepping stone towards the future of telecommunications, since this was the...
required the U.S. Federal Communications Commission
Federal Communications Commission
The Federal Communications Commission is an independent agency of the United States government, created, Congressional statute , and with the majority of its commissioners appointed by the current President. The FCC works towards six goals in the areas of broadband, competition, the spectrum, the...
(FCC) to promote all citizens be able to access advanced telecommunication services at a reasonable price. These services mainly included voice telephony services, both the fixed lines and wireless phones.
- Promote the availability of quality services at just, reasonable and affordable rates for all consumers
- Increase nationwide access to advanced telecommunications services
- Advance the availability of such services to all consumers, including those in low income, rural, insular, and high cost areas at rates that are reasonably comparable to those charged in urban areas
- Increase access to telecommunications and advanced services in schools, libraries and rural health care facilities
- Provide equitable and non-discriminatory contributions from all providers of telecommunications services to the fund supporting universal service programs
Japan
In Japan, based on the Telecommunications Business Law Article 7, telecommunications carriers that provide universal service must endeavor to provide that service in an appropriate, fair, and stable manner. These services include subscriber line access, public telephone service and emergency calls service. The Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications (MIC) is in charge of the Universal Service Fund in Japan.Broadband
Although broadbandBroadband
The term broadband refers to a telecommunications signal or device of greater bandwidth, in some sense, than another standard or usual signal or device . Different criteria for "broad" have been applied in different contexts and at different times...
has a technical meaning, in public policy discussions it means Internet access
Internet access
Many technologies and service plans for Internet access allow customers to connect to the Internet.Consumer use first became popular through dial-up connections in the 20th century....
at higher rates than obsolete dial-up Internet access.
Broadband overview
Faster and more widely available broadband is considered an important opportunity to improve education, communication, and public participation in civic affairs. U.S. President Barack ObamaBarack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama previously served as a United States Senator from Illinois, from January 2005 until he resigned following his victory in the 2008 presidential election.Born in...
mentioned: “one key to strengthening education, entrepreneurship, and innovation in communities… is to harness the full power of the Internet, and that means faster and more widely available broadband.” (Obama, 2009) The government claimed widespread broadband access is critical for global competitiveness, economic development, national security, public safety, job creation, civic engagement, etc.
Broadband access & usage in the United States
Based on a survey conducted by the United States Census BureauUnited States Census Bureau
The United States Census Bureau is the government agency that is responsible for the United States Census. It also gathers other national demographic and economic data...
in 2009 (N=50,000, unit: household), people with high incomes, those who are younger, more highly-educated, Asians and Whites, and the employed, have higher rates of broadband use at home. People with low incomes, minorities, seniors, the less-educated, and the non-employed tend to have lower rates of broadband use at home. Besides, there are rural/urban differences as well. People in rural areas are less likely to adopt the Internet.
According to NTIA (2011), almost one-third of American households still lack a broadband connection. “The rates for White (68%) and Asian non-Hispanics (69%) exceed those for Black non-Hispanics (50%) and Hispanics (45%) by 18 percentage points or more. Rural America lags behind urban areas by ten percentage points (60% versus 70%).” There is obvious digital divide among different ethnic groups and between rural and urban areas.
Digital divide
One of the main goals to have universal broadband service is to narrow the digital divideDigital divide
The Digital Divide refers to inequalities between individuals, households, business, and geographic areas at different socioeconomic levels in access to information and communication technologies and Internet connectivity and in the knowledge and skills needed to effectively use the information...
("digital split"). Digital divide refers to “the differing amount of information between those who have access to the Internet
Internet
The Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standard Internet protocol suite to serve billions of users worldwide...
(specially broadband access) and those who do not have access. The term became popular among concerned parties, such as scholars, policy makers, and advocacy groups, in the late 1990s.” Digital divide is not just about the access to the Internet, but the quality of connection, and the related service availability.
Debates
There has been much discussion regarding whether we still need universal service, and whether the definition of universal service should be expanded beyond the provision of voice telephony services to broadband access.Pros
In order to “get people connected for basic communications that opens the door to economic and civic participation in cyberspace,” it is essential to provide basic broadband connectivity at an affordable prices. U.S. President Obama mentioned, "this isn't just about faster Internet or fewer dropped calls. It's about connecting every part of America to the digital age. It’s about a rural community in Iowa or Alabama where farmers and small business owners will be able to sell their products all over the world. It’s about a firefighter who can download the design of a burning building onto a handheld device; a student who can take classes with a digital textbook; or a patient who can have face-to-face video chats with her doctor.” –President Obama, State of the Union Address2011 State of the Union Address
The 2011 State of the Union Address was a speech given by President Barack Obama at 9 p.m. EST on January 25, 2011, in the chamber of the United States House of Representatives...
, January 25, 2011
NTIA (2010) also pointed out, "universal access to and adoption of 21st Century broadband for all citizens is a top priority for the Obama Administration. Widespread access is critical to America’s future as the world’s economic leader because of its impact on increasing our productivity, global competitiveness, and improving Americans’ quality of life – through economic growth and development, job creation, national security, telemedicine, distance learning, public safety, civic engagement, and telework."
Necessity of broadband
According to NTIA (2010), the major reason for people not having high speed Internet use at home is “don’t need/not interested” (37.8%), and the second one is “too expensive” (26.3%). Therefore, some people argue, maybe people without broadband do not need it. Why do taxpayers need to pay for people who do not need broadband to have broadband?Government intervention
Some people argue that universal service policies may not be the best way to increase broadband penetration. If the regulators could increase incentives to ensure operators offer such services, the market instead of government mandates might lead to universally available broadband service. Maybe there are other steps can be taken to design the service and tariff packages without subsidies to ensure broadband penetration.Funding system
One of the biggest concerns regarding universal broadband service is "how to use the universal service fundUniversal Service Fund
The Universal Service Fund was created by the United States Federal Communications Commission in 1997 to meet Congressional universal service goals as mandated by the Telecommunications Act of 1996...
ing efficiently and effectively." How could the regulator ensure the cost proposed by the operators is true and reasonable? In the National Broadband Plan, the FCC planned to eliminate the rate-of-return regulation in the Universal Service Fund (USF). This may result in the uncertainty of profits to ILECs and decrease their incentives to provide broadband universal service.
Speed
Furthermore, what kind of broadband services should be accessible to all citizens is another question. For example, in the U.S., OPASTCO argues that 4 Mbps per second in rural areas will not make rural areas compatible.Finland
In 2009, the Finnish Ministry of Transport and Communications announced a decree which required a 1 Mbit Internet connection to be included in universal service mandates in 2010. Therefore, Finland became the first country in the world to establish broadband universal service, albeit at a basic speed, as a general right of citizens.The United Kingdom
The British government announced to make broadband universal service available in 2012. According to the Digital BritainDigital Britain
The Digital Britain report was a policy document published in 2009, which outlined the United Kingdom Government's strategic vision for ensuring that the country is at the leading edge of the global digital economy....
report published in 2009, "broadband connections should be available to all under a "Universal Service Commitment" similar to BT's obligation to make fixed-line telephone services available to everyone."
United States
In 2010, the Federal-State Joint Board on Universal Service agreed that universal service programs need to support broadband service.National Broadband Plan
In the US, the broadband universal service concept is rooted in the universal service mandate in Telecommunications Act of 1996Telecommunications Act of 1996
The Telecommunications Act of 1996 was the first major overhaul of United States telecommunications law in nearly 62 years, amending the Communications Act of 1934. This Act, signed by President Bill Clinton, was a major stepping stone towards the future of telecommunications, since this was the...
. Arguments regarding the National Broadband Plan are also related to broadband universal service debates.
The US National Broadband Plan
National Broadband Plan (United States)
Connecting America: The National Broadband Plan, unveiled March 16, 2010, is a FCC plan which deals with improving broadband Internet access throughout the United States. One goal was providing 100 million American households with access to 100 Mbit/s connections by 2020...
was released by the FCC in March 2010. The agency started the process of creating this plan in April 2009. After holding thirty-six public workshop
Workshop
A workshop is a room or building which provides both the area and tools that may be required for the manufacture or repair of manufactured goods...
s and stream
Stream
A stream is a body of water with a current, confined within a bed and stream banks. Depending on its locale or certain characteristics, a stream may be referred to as a branch, brook, beck, burn, creek, "crick", gill , kill, lick, rill, river, syke, bayou, rivulet, streamage, wash, run or...
ed online, with more than 10,000 people and 700 parties participated, 23,000 comments were generated. The FCC filed about 13,000 pages and held nine public hearings to refine and clarify the plan and proposed it in 2010.
The plan mentions many potential policies. For example, the federal government intended to make 500 MHz of spectrum available to promote wireless broadband. It proposed the "Connect America Fund (CAF) to support the provision of affordable broadband and voice with at least 4 Mbps actual download speeds and shift up to $15.5 billion over the next decade from the existing Universal Service Fund (USF) program to support broadband".
National Broadband Map
The National Broadband Map was created by the NTIA and FCC. It was launched on February 17, 2011. It is a searchable database of information on high-speed Internet access. Although the map was in an early stage of development and contained errors, by entering specific addresses, users can acquire information on how connected their communities are. On the website of the National Broadband Map, broadband providers are listed in order of their maximum speed advertised.Universal Service Fund Reforms and Connect America Fund
On April 21, 2010, the US FCC launched a notice of inquiry (NOI) and notice of proposed rulemakingNotice of proposed rulemaking
A notice of proposed rulemaking is a public notice issued by law when one of the independent agencies of the United States government wishes to add, remove, or change a rule or regulation as part of the rulemaking process. It is an important part of United States administrative law which...
(NPRM) for what it called the "once-in-a-generation transformation" of the Universal Service Fund (USF).
According to the National Broadband Plan, the FCC planned to make 4 megabits per second download speeds and 1 mbps upload speed available to all Americans by 2020. To support this, two funds will be created: the Connect America Fund (CAF) and the Mobility Fund. The CAF will replace high cost programs in USF but will only provide funds to areas where there is no private operator willing to provide broadband service for a lack of profitability. The Mobility Fund will mainly focus on the wireless internet. access.
There are three stages in the plan. The first stage aims to set up the overall policymaking apparatus. In this stage, the Universal Service Fund transform from telephone service support to broadband service support. The Connect American Fund and the Mobility Fund will be created in the first stage. In the second stage, scheduled for 2012-2016, these two new funds will distribute the funds they have collected. Broadband services will be taxed to support the funds. In the third stage, scheduled in 2017-2020, the USF will be discontinued.
In February 2011, the FCC adopted an NPRM and Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (FNPRM) to ask for comments on reforming the Universal Service Fund and the Commission’s intercarrier compensation (ICC). The FCC planned workshops to discuss the reforms. The first workshop was held on February 17, 2011. The second workshop was held on April 27, 2011 and the main theme was related to the implementation of a Phase I of the Connect America Fund (CAF), including the costs and capabilities of broadband technologies and the use of the funds in Phase I of the CAF.
On October 27, 2011, the FCC adopted its "Connect America Fund & Intercarrier Compensation Reform Order" which established a $4.5 billion Connect America Fund to expand broadband access to seven million unserved rural Americans, replacing the Universal Service Fund's high-cost support and explicitly endorsing broadband as a universal service. The Connect America Fund also includes $500 million for mobile broadband, of which $100 million is set aside for mobile broadband on tribal lands.
On November 9, 2011, the Connect-to-Compete program was announced. Businesses and non-profit groups will work together to provide broadband access for low-income people in the United States. 35 million households, about one-third of the total, many of them poor, do not have the service. Persons without broadband have a harder time finding jobs using the Internet.
By Summer 2012, homes in which children qualify for the federal school lunch program
National School Lunch Act
The Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act is a United States federal law signed by President Harry S. Truman in 1946. The act created the National School Lunch Program , a program to provide low-cost or free school lunch meals to qualified students through subsidies to schools...
will become eligible for $9.95 broadband service. Also as part of the program, Microsoft
Microsoft
Microsoft Corporation is an American public multinational corporation headquartered in Redmond, Washington, USA that develops, manufactures, licenses, and supports a wide range of products and services predominantly related to computing through its various product divisions...
will also sell PCs with Office Suite
Office suite
In computing, an office suite, sometimes called an office software suite or productivity suite is a collection of programs intended to be used by knowledge workers...
for $250.
Taiwan
In 2007, the National Communications CommissionNational Communications Commission
National Communications Commission of the Republic of China is responsible for regulating the development of the communications and information industry, promoting competition, consumer protection, licensing, radio frequency, spectrum, broadcasting, content regulation, communications standards and...
(NCC) set up the goal to offer Internet access services with a speed of 2 megabytes per second (Mbps)to every village in Taiwan to shorten the digital divide between urban and rural areas. This universal service mandate was supported by the Telecommunication Universal Service Fund. More than fifty remote villages which did not have broadband service are able to access broadband. The NCC aimed to further broadband access to more rural areas in 2011.
See also
- Universal serviceUniversal serviceUniversal service is an economic, legal and business term used mostly in regulated industries, referring to the practice of providing a baseline level of services to every resident of a country...
- Universal service fundUniversal Service FundThe Universal Service Fund was created by the United States Federal Communications Commission in 1997 to meet Congressional universal service goals as mandated by the Telecommunications Act of 1996...
- Universal Service DirectiveUniversal Service DirectiveThe Universal Service Directive or formally Directive 2002/22/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 7 March 2002 on universal service and users' rights relating to electronic communications networks and services addresses so called universal service obligations and users' rights...
- Telecommunications Act of 1996Telecommunications Act of 1996The Telecommunications Act of 1996 was the first major overhaul of United States telecommunications law in nearly 62 years, amending the Communications Act of 1934. This Act, signed by President Bill Clinton, was a major stepping stone towards the future of telecommunications, since this was the...
- BroadbandBroadbandThe term broadband refers to a telecommunications signal or device of greater bandwidth, in some sense, than another standard or usual signal or device . Different criteria for "broad" have been applied in different contexts and at different times...
- Federal Communications CommissionFederal Communications CommissionThe Federal Communications Commission is an independent agency of the United States government, created, Congressional statute , and with the majority of its commissioners appointed by the current President. The FCC works towards six goals in the areas of broadband, competition, the spectrum, the...
- National Broadband Plan (United States)National Broadband Plan (United States)Connecting America: The National Broadband Plan, unveiled March 16, 2010, is a FCC plan which deals with improving broadband Internet access throughout the United States. One goal was providing 100 million American households with access to 100 Mbit/s connections by 2020...
- Digital BritainDigital BritainThe Digital Britain report was a policy document published in 2009, which outlined the United Kingdom Government's strategic vision for ensuring that the country is at the leading edge of the global digital economy....
Further reading
Atkinson, R. D. (2007). The Case for a national broadband policy.Atkinson, R. D. (2009). Role of Competition in a National Broadband Policy.
Bauer, J. M. & Kim, J. H. (2003). Broadband uptake in OECD countries: Policy lessons from comparative statistical analysis.
Bauer, J.M., DeMaagd, K., Wildman, S., & Yook, S. Michigan’s Communication Infrastructure Needs: Assessment and Policy Options. East Lansing: Michigan State University, 2009.
Berkman Center (2009). Next generation connectivity: A review of broadband Internet transitions and policy from around the world.
Cava-Ferreruela (2006). Broadband policy assessment: A cross-national empirical analysis. Telecommunications Policy.
Cherry, B. A., Wildman, S. S., Hammond, A. S. (Ed.) (1999). Making universal service policy: Enhancing the process through multidisciplinary evaluation.
External links
FCC, Universal Service Monitoring Report 2010, accessible at http://www.fcc.gov/wcb/iatd/monitor.htmlFederal-State Joint Board on Universal Service. http://www.fcc.gov/wcb/tapd/universal_service/JointBoard/
Ford, G. S. (2007). The broadband performance index: a policy-relevant method of comparing broadband adoption among countries. http://www.phoenix-center.org/pcpp/PCPP29Final.doc
Gillett, S. The Connect America Fund and Intercarrier Compensation Reform Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, presentation at the Silicon Flatirons Conference, Boulder, CO, February 13, 2011.
Nuechterlein, J. E. & Weiser, P. J. (2005). Digital crossroads: American telecommunications policy in the Internet age. MIT: Cambridge.
President Obama, State of the Union Address, January 25, 2011 (Video) http://www.whitehouse.gov/state-of-the-union-2011
Wu, T. (2005). Broadband Debate, A User's Guide. http://heinonline.org/HOL/Page?handle=hein.journals/jtelhtel3&div=9&g_sent=1&collection=journals