“The Federal Communications Commission voted Thursday to approve a $20.4 billion plan to subsidize the construction of high-speed broadband networks in rural America.
FCC Chairman Ajit Pai called the vote the “biggest step the FCC has ever taken to close the rural digital divide.”
The Rural Digital Opportunity Fund will help internet service providers deploy broadband over 10 years to areas currently lacking service of at least 25 megabits per second download and 3 Mbps upload speeds. The federal agency estimates about six million rural homes and businesses are located in areas that could benefit from the initiative. Internet service providers, including telecoms and government utilities, would bid to provide broadband and voice services to the locations.
The FCC’s three Republican members voted for the rules, while the two Democratic members supported the plan but dissented in part. Democrats said they were concerned that not enough has been done to fix the FCC’s maps that show where broadband is and isn’t available. Without correcting what many say are flawed maps, it is impossible to say what areas of the country most need help with access, they said.
FCC Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel cited the example of Duanesburg, New York, where a survey of residents found that about half of the FCC’s broadband maps were incorrect in their indication of which residents had access to broadband.
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Through that same analysis, the FCC decided that Alaska and New York would be ineligible for funding through the program because of “previously established programs to fund rural broadband in these states.””
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Noble, Andrea. Nextgov 31 January 2020.