[1st-mile-nm] FCC Push to Expand Net Access Gains Help
Richard Lowenberg
rl at 1st-mile.com
Wed Nov 9 09:59:05 PST 2011
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
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