Today's Regulatory Mix: Broadband Report Released from the US Telecom Broadband Association, USDA Broadband Funding in South Carolina
New research by USTelecom—The Broadband Association shows the decreasing cost and increasing value of broadband service in the United States between 2015-2020. Using FCC and other public data, the research assesses recent trends in residential fixed broadband pricing and reveals during the 2015-2020 period, there were substantial reductions in price for both the most popular and highest-speed broadband internet services and significant improvements in overall broadband speeds.
Among other things, the analysis finds:
According to the analysis, data shows that broadband is becoming more affordable—thereby reducing, but certainly not eliminating, an obstacle to adoption. For instance, eighteen million Americans mostly in rural America remain unconnected and 30 percent of K-12 students do not have access to high-speed internet and/or the devices needed to learn from home.
The USDA announced it was investing more than $7 million to provide broadband service in unserved and underserved rural areas in South Carolina. In rural South Carolina, OneTone Telecommunications will use a $7.5 million loan to deploy a fiber-to-the-premises (FTTP) network to connect 12,938 people, 29 businesses and three educational facilities to high-speed broadband internet in Anderson and Oconee counties.
“Access to a high-speed internet connection is a cornerstone of prosperity, and unfortunately many of America’s rural communities lack access to this critical infrastructure,” USDA Rural Development Deputy Under Secretary Bette Brand said. “Under the leadership of President Trump and Agriculture Secretary Perdue, USDA is committed to leveraging all available resources and being a strong partner to rural communities in deploying high-speed broadband e-Connectivity to the people, businesses and community facilities that don’t have access yet. Connecting America’s rural communities to this essential infrastructure is one of USDA’s top priorities, because we know that when rural America thrives, all of America thrives.”
Recent Briefings from Inteserra:
FCC Announces Effective Date of Call Blocking Safe Harbor and Single Point of Contact Rules
FCC Seeks Comment on New and Revised Application Fees
Virginia Planning Letter for 826 Overlay of 540 NPA Released
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The Regulatory Mix, Inteserra’s blog of telecom related regulatory activities, is a snapshot of PUC, FCC, legislative, and occasionally court issues that our regulatory monitoring team uncovers each day. Depending on their significance, some items may be the subject of an Inteserra Briefing.