What’s ‘broadband’? Billions in stimulus funds (especially in rural states) are at stake. Dream Big, Feds, Very Big!

"If we do it right, we can connect a critical segment of the U.S. population to the knowledge economy," he says, referring to the 40 million-plus consumers living in rural and low-income areas who don’t have broadband. "If we do it wrong, we’ll wind up giving money to companies that don’t need it and won’t use it efficiently."

Congress has earmarked $7.2 billion in stimulus aid to deploy broadband in underserved parts of the USA. But what does that mean, really?

The Federal Communications Commission is trying to come up with answers. At the request of lawmakers, the agency is in the process of defining "broadband," "underserved" and other terms. The FCC is advising the National Telecommunications and Information Administration, which will make the final call on how stimulus money gets doled out.

The stakes are high for consumers and, ultimately, the U.S., says Chris Murray, a senior lawyer for Consumers Union.

By Leslie Cauley, USA TODAY

Full Story: http://www.usatoday.com/money/industries/telecom/2009-04-05-broadband-fcc_N.htm

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FCC studies goal of nationwide affordable, fast Internet http://matr.net/article-33806.html

New Australia National Broadband Network Announced http://matr.net/article-33794.html

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National Broadband Plan? Dream Big, Feds, Very Big

By Ryan Singel

Note the time: On Wednesday morning, in a one-hour meeting in Washington D.C., for the the federal government started work on a national broadband plan first time ever.

The FCC now has a year to survey the nation’s internet pipes and recommend a plan of action or inaction to Congress, and it is starting by asking for comments from citizens, telecoms, and public interest groups.

Hopefully, the first thing submitted to the commission is the Australian government’s announcement Tuesday that it was bringing broadband to every Australian http://blog.wired.com/business/2009/04/aussies-announc.html by spending $31 billion to lay thousands of miles of 100 Mbps fiber optic cable that will stop at nearly every porch in the country. The government-owned company that builds the network will then lease access to any and all companies that want to be ISPs, the government promised as it threw out bids from the existing telecom players saying the proposals had no value.

Full Story: http://blog.wired.com/business/2009/04/national-broadb.html