And one more... $25 Billion to provide Broadband Internet Access to...??

WSJ: FCC’s National Broadband Plan calls for up to $25 billion in new spending

According to a Tuesday report in the Wall Street Journal, the National Broadband Plan proposed by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairman Julius Genachowski will entail up to $25 billion new federal spending, for boosting the Internet access of the Americans.

Scheduled to be released in mid-March, the National Broadband Plan will reportedly make fast and affordable Internet accessible to over 90 million Americans over the coming decade, via high-speed Internet lines; with a broader part of the plan also aiming at a wireless network for police and firefighters, at a cost of nearly $12-16 billion.

Though it is not clear whether Congress will give its consent to the proposal, especially in the face of the growing concerns over federal deficits; it is palpable that the plan would be a win for the wireless carriers – a fact that is evident from the Tuesday blog posts of AT&T and Verizon executives, who have appreciated Genachowski’s efforts.

Meanwhile, as per the WSJ report, the people who have reviewed the plan – which also underscores Genachowski’s endeavors to expand 100 megabit per second service to 100 million homes by 2020 - have opined that while it will help create jobs and provide faster Internet access to educational and healthcare services; it will also necessitate an appraisal of competition in the broadband market, along with the need for more specific pricing data.