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posted by martyb on Wednesday July 12 2017, @04:54AM   Printer-friendly
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.


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  • (Score: 2) by MostCynical on Wednesday July 12 2017, @08:58AM (5 children)

    by MostCynical (2589) on Wednesday July 12 2017, @08:58AM (#538002) Journal

    what is in this for Microsoft?
    Where is the money to be made?
    Why do this, unless there is money in it?

    --
    "I guess once you start doubting, there's no end to it." -Batou, Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex
    Starting Score:    1  point
    Karma-Bonus Modifier   +1  

    Total Score:   2  
  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday July 12 2017, @09:27AM (1 child)

    by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday July 12 2017, @09:27AM (#538008)

    OneDrive and office 365

    • (Score: 2) by MostCynical on Wednesday July 12 2017, @09:43AM

      by MostCynical (2589) on Wednesday July 12 2017, @09:43AM (#538012) Journal

      Suppose, if you can't have people's emails, try and get their data some other way. Wonder how much storage they will offer for "free"?

      --
      "I guess once you start doubting, there's no end to it." -Batou, Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex
  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday July 12 2017, @12:47PM

    by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday July 12 2017, @12:47PM (#538043)

    It's a commercial service, just like everything else M$ does. And the price is always right for them because they set the price.

  • (Score: 2, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday July 12 2017, @02:23PM

    by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday July 12 2017, @02:23PM (#538100)

    They want to remove the dial-up networking code from Windows 10 because they can't find any Indians who know how to maintain it.

  • (Score: 2) by stretch611 on Wednesday July 12 2017, @04:42PM

    by stretch611 (6199) on Wednesday July 12 2017, @04:42PM (#538165)

    Microsoft spent a lot of time building windows 10 to phone home with "usage data" about you. You can not effectively opt-out or tell Microsoft to not sell your data to others. However, it can't collect data if you are not online.

    --
    Now with 5 covid vaccine shots/boosters altering my DNA :P