FCC Moves To Fund Rural Broadband

[Brink]

In Washington today, someone got something done. If that was not shocking enough, it was the FCC. We can wait while you compose yourself. The FCC voted unanimously today to re-purpose the universal service program, which was used to get phone service to rural Americans. The fun will now be used to deliver broadband internet access to the most remote areas of the nation.

Read more at:
Maximum PC | FCC Moves To Fund Rural Broadband

 

[Lebon14]

only if Canada's FCC (the CRTC) was this intelligent...

 

[Bertison]

Want to know about the UK plans? Check this:

Rural broadband pilot areas named : Directgov - Newsroom

It is also reported that the EU is to invest 9.2 Billion Euros, in Broadband services to rural areas across the EU. The UK will receive some of this, BUT:

Take a look at the map of EU nations. Imagine how much of that is actually rural. (A lot, especially amongst countries which are not numbered amongst the original 12 member states) Then try to imagine what proportion of the 9.2 Billion the UK will receive.

Yeah, that's right. An organisation that decides to give Slovakia complete BB coverage, as an incentive to development and trade, is not going to give us much. Hey, we don't even use their currency, right? But we do pay in much more than we receive!

Why am I bitter? - Because I live in rural Lincolnshire. We have the worst roads, the worst communications and some of the worst unemployment in Britain. Our villages are so far apart that transport costs are a big factor in seeking employment, a great deal of which is seasonal or agricultural. Entrepreneurs trying to set up here, have a mountain to climb. Better BB would ameliorate this. Expecting Parliament to do something about it? Don't make me laugh! Most of them are IT dumb.

Putting away my soap box now.

 

[arkhi]

Good. Since this investment helps develop those areas.

 

[seavixen32]

Want to know about the UK plans? Check this:

Rural broadband pilot areas named : Directgov - Newsroom

It is also reported that the EU is to invest 9.2 Billion Euros, in Broadband services to rural areas across the EU. The UK will receive some of this, BUT:

Take a look at the map of EU nations. Imagine how much of that is actually rural. (A lot, especially amongst countries which are not numbered amongst the original 12 member states) Then try to imagine what proportion of the 9.2 Billion the UK will receive.

Yeah, that's right. An organisation that decides to give Slovakia complete BB coverage, as an incentive to development and trade, is not going to give us much. Hey, we don't even use their currency, right? But we do pay in much more than we receive!

Why am I bitter? - Because I live in rural Lincolnshire. We have the worst roads, the worst communications and some of the worst unemployment in Britain. Our villages are so far apart that transport costs are a big factor in seeking employment, a great deal of which is seasonal or agricultural. Entrepreneurs trying to set up here, have a mountain to climb. Better BB would ameliorate this. Expecting Parliament to do something about it? Don't make me laugh! Most of them are IT dumb.

Putting away my soap box now.

Can I borrow your soapbox, Bertison?

I live in Hampton, a new township on the outskirts of Peterborough. Peterborough's population is around 200,000 and Hampton's is approaching 14,000.

BT won't install fibre optics for fast broadband because "it's not cost effective". Come again? Just what kind of planet are these numpties on?

As for "Most of them are IT dumb", I think we can safely remove IT from that phrase.

 

[Bertison]

Hi Sea Vixen

Soap box is yours for free!

Think we need to build it higher and get a better PA machine though. I was not making a special case for Lincs, I know that most rural areas of the UK are in the same boat (except for the places where wealthy "incomers" buy up commuter bases) with BB reception.

BTW, I visited Yeovilton last year and saw your beautiful Vixen. I have not been for many years, the place is so much more developed, with great attractions now.

Ex- Army Air Corps here, once known by FAA and RAF as TWA, or "Teeny Weeny Airways". Now of course has more rotary wings than the Crabs!

 

[Windows i7 920]

Awesome. Now if only this would bring fiber optic to my area...

 

[seavixen32]

Hi Sea Vixen

Soap box is yours for free!

Think we need to build it higher and get a better PA machine though. I was not making a special case for Lincs, I know that most rural areas of the UK are in the same boat (except for the places where wealthy "incomers" buy up commuter bases) with BB reception.

BTW, I visited Yeovilton last year and saw your beautiful Vixen. I have not been for many years, the place is so much more developed, with great attractions now.

Ex- Army Air Corps here, once known by FAA and RAF as TWA, or "Teeny Weeny Airways". Now of course has more rotary wings than the Crabs!

Thanks for the loan of your soapbox, I feel better for it.

I was stationed at Yeovilton in the 1960s when it was the main Sea Vixen base, and I was drafted there in between my sea-going drafts.

When the Sea Vixen was taken out of service Yeovilton became home to the Sea Harrier, but now the Harrier has fallen by the wayside it (Yeovilton) has taken over from Culdrose as the Navy's main helicopter base.

Talking of the Army Air Corps, do you recognise this de Havilland Beaver seen here landing onboard HMS Victorious in 1964? We were operating off Hong Kong at the time.

 

[GARoss]

I live in the country where cell service is poor much less hi speed internet. With all movie rental business going to streaming & rental companies like Netflix & Blockbuster phasing out their mail rentals, it's nice hearing this. Country folk are generally %&$#! over with the aforementioned "it's not cost effective". Maybe we'll become part of the 21st century, too.

 

[seavixen32]

The trouble is GARoss, North America is such a huge land mass that the cost of hooking up remote rural areas is astronomic.

I think the future in these cases must rest with satellite technology rather than land lines.

 

[GARoss]

The trouble is GARoss, North America is such a huge land mass that the cost of hooking up remote rural areas is astronomic.

I think the future in these cases must rest with satellite technology rather than land lines.

Agree! I'll put it this way; if I were them, I'd be reluctant to bare the cost of the needed infrastructure for so few customers, too.

You're probably right with satellite technology. Currently there's Hughsnet & others but they cap residential speeds at about 3mbs, about half of what's needed for streaming video. We have wireless service which is similar to Hughsnet speeds but less $$$. You must have an unobstructed line (no trees or hills) to their tower to get it.

 

[sygnus21]

Hopefully this will bring some enlightenment to a lot of folks who have been living in the dark ages.

 

[Big Tom]

i think thats a good move by the FCC, now i can move back out to "the sticks"

 

[nitroman84]

It would make sense if they would use the old tv broadcast air space to transmit wifi.

 

[ionbasa]

It would make sense if they would use the old tv broadcast air space to transmit wifi.

Most of it was taken by the Cell Phone Industry.
Old television frequencies to speed cell data | StarTribune.com

 

[ambriel]

We live in the very remote north west corner of Great Britain yet I still manage to get nearly an 8meg broadband connection, which is the maximum for our exchange. A couple of miles down the road, however, my neighbours struggle to get 1 or 2.

I was talking with someone from BT a few months back who told me BT was rolling-out 20meg B/b to our exchange by the end of next year. Fingers crossed here.

 

[Joan Archer]

You're lucky, our exchange is supposed to be up to 8 down the South West of the country but I mainly only get about 2 to 3 mb. You'd think as we're surrounded by the MoD, training camps etc: they'd want BT to pull their finger out and get decent speeds going. I don't know whether it's being the coast that makes it harder but I wish they'd hurry up.