Biden Announces His Broadband Plan--and ISPs Will Hate It [View all]
PRESIDENT BIDEN'S PLAN to connect all Americans with high-speed broadband includes proposals to boost competition, build more publicly owned networks, lower prices, and prioritize "future-proof" networks instead of ones that would quickly become outdated. In other words, the plan includes some of the broadband industry's least-favorite ideas and is sure to meet fierce resistance from cable and telecom lobby groups and Republicans.
Biden's $100 billion broadband proposal is part of the American Jobs Plan described by the White House in a fact sheet released Wednesday. The broadband details released so far are a bit vague, and the plan could be changed in Congress, but there's a lot to like for internet users.
"The president believes we can bring affordable, reliable, high-speed broadband to every American through a historic investment of $100 billion," the fact sheet said. The $100 billion in broadband funding would be spread out over a number of years, as the entire jobs plan is slated to "invest about $2 trillion this decade."
Municipally owned networks, nonprofits, and cooperatives would play a major role in the expansion pitched by Biden. The broadband industry and Republicans have been fighting city-owned networks for years, and nearly 20 states have laws that restrict the growth of municipal broadband. While Democrats have proposed eliminating those state laws, congressional Republicans last month proposed a nationwide ban on municipal broadband.
https://www.wired.com/story/biden-announces-broadband-plan-isps-will-hate-it/
= new reply since forum marked as read
