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US to vote on sharp increase in broadband subsidies |
April 23, 2014
The U.S. Federal Communications Commission will vote Wednesday on a proposal to pump US$1.8 billion into a fund that subsidizes broadband deployments in rural communities.It would be the second investment for the FCC’s Connect America Fund and should bring broadband service to nearly 5 million U.S. residents who don’t have coverage now, an FCC official said. The new funding, planned for next year, would amount to a 70 percent increase in subsidies, said the official, speaking on background.The FCC voted in October 2011 to begin transitioning subsidies for traditional telephone service in its Universal Service Fund to broadband subsidies. To date, the new Connect America Fund has spent $438 million to expand broadband to about 1.6 million U.S. residents and $300 million to expand mobile broadband service. It subsidizes deployments in rural communities and other areas where it would be expensive to build networks.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
Link: http://www.pcworld.com/article/2147140/us-to-vote-on-sharp-increase-in-broadband-subsidies.html#tk.rss_all
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