【Historical Archives】

Source：Prosperous Times Information Network Editor：Digital Culture Time：2025-06-26 06:20:59

Internet access is Historical Archivesstill elusive in much of rural America, and the Federal Communications Commission is taking steps to close that gap.

The FCC on Thursday morning approved a plan to provide $2 billion for a program to encourage the development of broadband internet access to rural parts of the United States. Internet providers will compete for FCC support in a "reverse auction" to expand broadband and voice service to unserved areas in 20 states. The $2 billion commitment is part of the FCC's Connect America Fund.

"Broadband access is essential in the 21st Century for jobs, education, information and economic development. Since 2011, the FCC has been working to expand access in rural areas where deployment costs are high by providing support from the Connect America Fund," the FCC said in a press release.

The key to the commission's new commitment will be deployment. Internet providers will need to follow through on providing reliable and affordable internet access in areas where it's hard to make that happen.

The FCC launched its Connect America initiative six years ago, but fell behind schedule, Chairman Ajit Pai said in a statement.

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"There is a real and growing digital divide in this country. Although high-speed Internet access is common in metropolitan areas, the rural-urban split is stark: 39% of rural Americans lack adequate access," said Pai, who was previously an FCC commissioner before being appointed chairman by President Donald Trump.

The FCC has tried to reach these areas before. The biggest internet providers declined to bid last year for FCC support to expand in these communities, defined by the U.S. census. Other locations where it's expensive to actually deploy internet service are also included in the offer of FCC funding.

For internet providers, the FCC hopes to balance the need for better internet in rural areas with the high cost of bringing internet to those places. Internet providers will have to reach as many consumers as possible within the FCC's budget for supporting universal internet access in rural areas.

Internet carriers accepted $9 billion for rural internet access in a similar program in 2015. Last March, the FCC also committed $20 billion over the next decade for small internet providers — not your AT&T or Comcast.

The FCC also approved new rules related to its Open Internet Order, which established requirements on transparency for internet providers. Carriers have to be up front with consumers about promotion rates and fees, data caps, and network performance and speed. The rule, however, now has an exemption for small providers with fewer than 250,000 subscribers — an easier-to-meet threshold than an earlier exemption for 100,000 subscribers.

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