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from the that-would-be-a-'bit'-of-an-improvement dept.
Microsoft has announced an effort to get broadband access to rural Americans. 34 million Americans do not have broadband Internet access, defined as a 25 Mbps connection by the FCC, and of these, 23.4 million live in rural areas. Microsoft has pledged to connect 2 million rural Americans to the Internet with broadband within five years, and push other companies and regulators to handle the full 23.4 million:
In some rural areas, parents have to drive their kids to the parking lot of the local library so their kids can file homework. In 2017, not being online hurts your education, your job prospects, your civic engagement.
Microsoft plans to use a cheaper technology — something called TV white spaces, which is on the wireless spectrum — to transmit broadband data. The company estimates it costs 80 percent less than building expensive wired infrastructure, and using a mix of technologies to close the rural broadband gap would cost roughly $10 billion.
Microsoft is asking to[sic] Federal Communications Commission to continue ensuring the spectrum needed for this approach, and to collect and publicly disclose data on rural broadband coverage, to guide policymakers and companies.
Also at The Seattle Times, The New York Times, and TechCrunch.
(Score: 3, Insightful) by physicsmajor on Wednesday July 12 2017, @06:41AM (2 children)
At present, LTE can provide a broadband-quality connection. But if you actually use it for even an hour, you blow through your available data.
The only possible way wireless can be used for actual home internet is if these asinine caps are gone - or they bill directly for usage transparently (say 20% on top of raw data costs).
The FCC should enforce this if they allow anyone to use the spectrum for this purpose. Broadband really is a fucking utility.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday July 12 2017, @06:49AM (1 child)
True. I'm using LTE broadband right now.
False. Current Month Total Used Data 96.111GB. No data plan, no throttle, no cap. Data caps don't really exist. You just want to believe they do.
(Score: 2) by LoRdTAW on Wednesday July 12 2017, @01:13PM
No carrier listed, no country of origin, bla bla bla, no real information. Just claims.