The U.S. Federal Communications Commission will take the first major steps toward implementing its national broadband plan next Wednesday, when it is scheduled to launch a rulemaking proceeding that would create a new fund for broadband deployment.
The FCC is expected to vote on a notice of inquiry and a notice of proposed rulemaking that would transition the Universal Service Fund (USF), which now subsidizes traditional telephone service in rural and other expensive-to-serve areas, to broadband deployment in those same areas.
Under the FCC's national broadband plan, released last month, the agency would pump $15.5 billion into broadband deployment over the next 10 years by redirecting money from the USF's $4.6 billion-a-year high-cost fund.
More: http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9175698/
The FCC is expected to vote on a notice of inquiry and a notice of proposed rulemaking that would transition the Universal Service Fund (USF), which now subsidizes traditional telephone service in rural and other expensive-to-serve areas, to broadband deployment in those same areas.
Under the FCC's national broadband plan, released last month, the agency would pump $15.5 billion into broadband deployment over the next 10 years by redirecting money from the USF's $4.6 billion-a-year high-cost fund.
More: http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9175698/