It could cost more than $350 billion to bring universal access to the fastest Internet connection in the U.S., the Federal Communications Commission said Tuesday.
The conclusion is part of the FCC's initial report after having held dozens of public meetings and collecting thousands of comments on its national broadband plan, which is due in February.
The private sector is the driving force behind Internet investment, said the FCC's Blair Levin, who is coordinating the commission's national broadband effort. The government's economic stimulus package put forth $7 billion for Internet buildout, but Levin has said that sum represents only a small portion of what is needed to blanket the country with Internet access. It's still uncertain how much of the cost would be borne by taxpayers.
The commission found that most Internet applications are currently focused on communication and entertainment, but that is evolving into education, job training, business and other productive purposes.
More and more, users, however, put stress on the network. Broadband speeds advertised by ISPs are generally slower than they claim to be – as much as 50 percent "and possibly more during the busy hours," according to a statement from the FCC. About 1 percent of all users drive 20 percent of traffic and 20 percent of all users drive 80 percent of traffic, the FCC added.
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