FCC puts broadband for all plan on table

Wanting to bridge the divide between the 'broadband haves' and the broadband 'have nots,' the FCC is proposing rules that could give the government more control of the U.S. Internet while raising phone charges to make broadband Internet service more accessible to more users.

Today, the FCC will present its plan to help expand the availability of broadband services. One of the proposed tenets of its plan is to mandate that broadband providers let competitors leverage their networks and increase phone fees to subsidize a broadband expansion plan. Not surprisingly, the FCC's plan has come under fire from traditional incumbent phone companies and cable MSOs. These proposals contrast the Bush administration's anti-regulatory stance.   

With these proposals in hand, the FCC said it will develop the plan further in December and then integrate them into its National Broadband Plan that it has to deliver to Congress in February.

For more:
- Wall Street Journal has this article

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