Broadband News
News, views and analysis
Faster broadband in America. A priority or not?
14 Aug 2010 | 10.17 Europe/London
The majority of Americans do not believe broadband expansion should be a priority for the Obama administration.
In a recent report by the Pew Research Centre, only 40% of USA citizens believed rolling out fast broadband should be a priority. In the survey of 2,250 people, 53% stated rolling out faster broadband to more homes and businesses across the country was ‘relatively unimportant’.
The report counters the assumptions behind the $7.2bn stimulus funding from the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act (ARRA) of 2009 which is seeking to expand high speed broadband in to underserved areas.
The research also highlighted a surprising point. While one might imagine that those not online may well be the biggest supporters of rolling out broadband, only 5% of ‘non users’ believe rolling out fast broadband connections should be a top priority. This could be down to the fact only one in ten non-users plan to go online soon, if given the opportunity. The remainder reported back that they do not feel broadband would help in their lives.
The report comes ahead of the Department of Agriculture and Department of Commerce releasing $3.6bn in September to fund 250 new broadband expansion projects. Already the two departments have spent $2bn and $1.6bn respectively to fund 200 broadband expansion projects.
The plans are all part of the FCC’s remit, under the National Broadband Plan, to provide 100m American households with fast broadband services by 2020.
In a recent report by the Pew Research Centre, only 40% of USA citizens believed rolling out fast broadband should be a priority. In the survey of 2,250 people, 53% stated rolling out faster broadband to more homes and businesses across the country was ‘relatively unimportant’.
The report counters the assumptions behind the $7.2bn stimulus funding from the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act (ARRA) of 2009 which is seeking to expand high speed broadband in to underserved areas.
The research also highlighted a surprising point. While one might imagine that those not online may well be the biggest supporters of rolling out broadband, only 5% of ‘non users’ believe rolling out fast broadband connections should be a top priority. This could be down to the fact only one in ten non-users plan to go online soon, if given the opportunity. The remainder reported back that they do not feel broadband would help in their lives.
The report comes ahead of the Department of Agriculture and Department of Commerce releasing $3.6bn in September to fund 250 new broadband expansion projects. Already the two departments have spent $2bn and $1.6bn respectively to fund 200 broadband expansion projects.
The plans are all part of the FCC’s remit, under the National Broadband Plan, to provide 100m American households with fast broadband services by 2020.