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12/22/2024 06:33:59 pm

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Obama Pushing For Cheaper, Faster Broadband In U.S.

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(Photo : Reuters) President Obama has outlined a new plan to create cheaper and faster broadband across the United States.

President Obama is making a big stand against broadband providers, in his next State of the Union he will address the restrictions in 19 U.S. states, removing the restrictions for municipal and community broadband.

The White House will send a letter to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) asking for the restrictions to be lifted, allowing more broadband competition.

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Obama will also tack on loans and grants for rural subsidized broadband, allowing homes all across the U.S. to have fast-speed broadband. The formation of a "Broadband Opportunity Council" will offer more coordination in efforts to bring the infrastructure to different places.

These restrictions were - for the most part - wrote by broadband providers to make sure community broadband does not take off in the local area, allowing telecom providers to maintain their monopoly on the state.

However, the FCC has already shown it will not stand by these rules, and the push from The White House will only advance the destruction of these damaging regulations, currently in place.

high-speed-internet
(Photo : The White House)

Obama pointed to places like Kansas City, Cedar Falls and Chattanooga as places where citizens can enjoy fast-speed (1Gbps) broadband, but claimed 500Mbps and 200Mbps in places like Los Angeles, New York and San Francisco were unacceptable.

It is not the first time Obama has gone against the broadband industry, also pursuing the FCC to adopt Title II reclassification under 'common carrier' for broadband companies.

Title II reclassification would force more regulation on broadband companies, allowing full net neutrality, but Republicans are working on a bill to counter the FCC's plan this month without the reclassification.

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