|
Here is the FCC
position and goal regarding broadband service within the United States:
Broadband
All Americans should have affordable access to robust and reliable broadband
products and services. Regulatory policies must promote technological
neutrality, competition, investment, and innovation to ensure that broadband
service providers have sufficient incentive to develop and offer such products
and services.
The term “broadband” refers to advanced communications systems capable of
providing high-speed transmission of services such as data, voice, and video
over the Internet and other networks. Transmission is provided by a wide range
of technologies, including digital subscriber line and fiber optic cable,
coaxial cable, wireless technology, and satellite. Broadband platforms make
possible the convergence of voice, video, and data services onto a single
network.
FCC Chairman
Kevin Martin has recognized that broadband technology is a key driver of
economic growth. The ability to share large amounts of information at
ever-greater speeds increases productivity, facilitates commerce, and drives
innovation. Broadband is changing how we communicate with each other, how and
where we work, how we educate our children, and how we entertain ourselves.
Broadband is particularly critical in rural areas, where advanced communications
can shrink the distances that isolate remote communities.
Congress recognized the importance of broadband in
Section 706 of the 1996
Telecommunications Act, which directs the FCC to “encourage the deployment
on a reasonable and timely basis of advanced telecommunications capability to
all Americans.” The Commission’s goals are to:
- Broaden the deployment of broadband technologies
- Define broadband to include any platform capable of transmitting
high-bandwidth intensive services
- Ensure harmonized regulatory treatment of competing broadband services
- Encourage and facilitate an environment that stimulates investment and
innovation in broadband technologies and services.
|
