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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 kaszz on Wednesday July 12 2017, @05:56PM

    by kaszz (4211) on Wednesday July 12 2017, @05:56PM (#538203) Journal

    "so study on campus."

    On the same intelligence as "Let them eat cake" ? ;-)

    Starting Score:    1  point
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    Total Score:   2