The Federal Communications Commission's Broadband Deployment Advisory Committee's (BDAC) membership -- and, therefore, the recommendations and discussion drafts currently under consideration -- do not reflect balanced viewpoints between industry and state and local interests. Previous efforts to meaningfully engage state and local members have been ignored or actively discouraged.
Speaking about universal service fund (USF) programs -- high-cost and Lifeline -- and contribution reform ...
[Commentary] A large reason for the nation’s lack of competition at faster broadband speeds is the country’s phone companies, for whom residential broadband isn’t profitable enough, quickly enough for investors’ liking. Verizon, for example, has all but given up on expanding its FiOS fiber footprint to focus on making inroads in the wireless video and advertising markets. Smaller telcos, like Windstream, CenturyLink, and Frontier, have similarly shifted their focus toward enterprise services, and tend to only upgrade aging DSL lines in the most profitable areas.
To bridge America’s digital divide, we’ll have to use innovative technologies. SpaceX’s application—along with those of other satellite companies seeking licenses or access to the US market for non-geostationary satellite orbit systems—involves one such innovation. Satellite technology can help reach Americans who live in rural or hard-to-serve places where fiber optic cables and cell towers do not reach. And it can offer more competition where terrestrial Internet access is already available.
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