FCC throws an $18B bone to rural broadband The US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has authorized more than $18 billion to be paid to carriers to expand rural broadband. The sum is to be spent over 15 years starting on January 1, 2024, and is part of the snappily named Enhanced Alternative Connect America Cost Model (Enhanced A-CAM). Some 328 carriers from more …
There need to be concrete goals and penalties for failing to meet them. Seems like we have gone through this half a dozen times over the last 25 years, and the only thing the average taxpayer sees is more corporate welfare (free money with no performance requirements).
A simple but unattainable request for our gov.
As a tax paying victim of rural broadband initiatives, the money never goes to the last mile.
Obama threw money at it and all they did in Texas was pay for connections between cities that already existed and told everyone how they provided for hundreds of thousands rural internet. B.S. they provided nothing as it still has not made it to the home.
Other state and fed money was provided and it all went to studies to determine who, what and where needed internet. Really? It was obvious who needed internet. Not a penny went to build, only studies.
Seen your phone bill for the past several years? The additional tax that said it was for rural, where the hell did all that money go?
Texas in November is again trying to get the public to agree to more money for broadband. I have not seen any plans on how it will be spent so I expect it to be the same as the lottery funds that we were told that would go straight to the schools. Spoiler- it never did
There is a small gilmer of hope tho. In a meeting with a fed commerce dept rep. It was stated that no money will be allocated from the infrastructure bill to carriers until the home get broadband. That meeting was months ago, they probably were fired for such a ridiculous idea. (Sarcasm)
For context, Northwest Oregon location, ~45 minutes from a major metro area. Not the middle of Wyoming or New Mexico.
CenturyLink is telling customers who have suffered for years on 1.5mbps DSL they are discontinuing service and they "need to find someone else". This is the same CenturyLink who has charged an "infrastructure improvement fee" every month, and spent precisely zero on improvements.
I'm not big on legal action, but this just stinks. And it smells like a Class Action opportunity if there are any lawyers sniffing around.
CenturyLink is telling customers who have suffered for years on 1.5mbps DSL they are discontinuing service and they "need to find someone else". This is the same CenturyLink who has charged an "infrastructure improvement fee" every month, and spent precisely zero on improvements.
Depends how they worded it and may be a quirk of the US 'USO' or 'Universal Service Obligation'. Some carriers are required to collect fees from subscribers to pay into the USO account, and is then meant to go towards <drumroll> subsidising rural broadband. Nice idea, but in practice results in stuff like this and the money going to alt.nets. End result is a bunch of small ISPs living off USO payments and overbuilding instead of any coherent, compatible national or state-wide strategy.
But that's also the US for you. FCC can mandate stuff, states can do things differently. Personally, I think broadband should be regarded as a natural monopoly and there should be muni nets that can be managed along side other state utilities. But that's practicall communism, even if it makes sense. Plus it may help prevent situations like you mention. There's a lot of cost and very little profit in providing acccess networks, especially as people untether and switch to mobiles, or satellite.
In my experience as a small isp, serving and using other small isps, we have not see a penny of the UCC funds.
The only time I have seen it used is when schools need connectivity. They call it E-rate. The isp is strictly forbidden to carry other traffic via the same build funded by E-rate to anyone else in that rural area.
Rual hospitals have done more to speed the builds to the rual areas. They have spent millions to get bandwidth to clinics. From there guys like the Reg readers grab some Wi-Fi gear and a few antenna poles and create their own WISPS tying off of the fiber going to the clinics. Just so they can have internet. No funding from the gov, only promises.
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