[1st-mile-nm] FCC Push to Expand Net Access Gains Help

[Richard Lowenberg]

 FCC Push to Expand Net Access Gains Help

 By BRIAN STELTER
 Published: November 9, 2011

 http://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/09/business/media/fcc-and-cable-companies-push-to-close-digital-divide.html?_r=3

 To sign up some of the estimated 100 million Americans who are not 
 online, the Federal Communications Commission and private providers are 
 trying to make broadband Internet access both less expensive and more 
 valuable.

 On Wednesday, the F.C.C. will announce commitments from most of the big 
 cable companies in the United States to supply access for $9.99 a month 
 to a subset of low-income households. The low introductory price is 
 meant to appeal to new customers who have not had broadband in the past.

 The F.C.C. is billing the initiative as the biggest effort ever to help 
 close the digital divide. Because no federal funds are being invested, 
 the initiative relies in large part on the cooperation of private 
 companies. One such company, Comcast, started offering $9.99 monthly 
 broadband service to some low-income households this year after 
 promising the F.C.C. that it would do so when it acquired control of 
 NBCUniversal.

 By enlisting the cable companies as well as a wide range of nonprofit 
 groups that will educate eligible families about the low-cost access, 
 “we can make a real dent in the broadband adoption gap,” Julius 
 Genachowski, the F.C.C. chairman, said in a telephone interview Tuesday.

 Mr. Genachowski has made broadband deployment and adoption the top 
 priority of his tenure at the F.C.C. The government estimates that about 
 one-third of American households, or 100 million people, do not have 
 high-speed Internet access at home. Some of those homes simply do not 
 have access to service, but most do and choose not to receive it, for 
 reasons involving cost and perceived relevance to their lives.

 To address the first point, along with the low monthly price, a 
 technology company will supply refurbished computers for low-income 
 households for $150; Microsoft will provide software; and Morgan Stanley 
 will help develop a microcredit program so that families can pay for 
 those computers.

 To address the second point, job Web sites and education companies will 
 offer content that will, in theory, make online access more valuable.

 Eligibility will be limited to those households that have a child 
 enrolled in the national school lunch program and that are not current 
 or recent broadband subscribers. About 17.5 million children are 
 enrolled in the school lunch program. That limitation is likely to 
 disappoint advocates who would like more affordable access extended to 
 all households.

 For those households, the $9.99 monthly price will apply only for a 
 two-year period. The price is akin to an on-ramp for new customers, with 
 the hope being that they will decide to pay more for access once they 
 have had it for a while.

 The F.C.C. said the initiative would begin in the spring and reach all 
 parts of the country in September 2012. It is similar in some ways to 
 Adoption Plus, a partnership that was proposed two years ago, but never 
 carried out, by the National Cable & Telecommunications Association, a 
 cable trade group.

 The participating cable companies — including almost all of the biggest 
 ones in the country, like Time Warner Cable, Cox and Charter — are not 
 expected to sustain a significant financial loss. Broadband service 
 normally has a high markup, and the $9.99 price will more than cover the 
 overhead costs of providing monthly Internet service.

 The announcement on Wednesday will not include two companies that are 
 major players in the broadband business, Verizon and AT&T. The F.C.C. is 
 reviewing AT&T’s proposed acquisition of T-Mobile.

 Asked why the cable companies were willing to participate, Mr. 
 Genachowski said he thought they “looked at this and said, this is an 
 important national challenge, let’s be part of the solution.”



-- 
 Richard Lowenberg
 1st-Mile Institute
 Box 8001, Santa Fe, NM 87504
 505-989-9110 / 505-603-5200
 www.1st-mile.com
 rl at 1st-mile.com