FCC Gets Go-Ahead For Plan To Expand Rural Internet Access 156
The FCC's plan to use fees collected from big telecom companies to expand Internet infrastructure in rural parts of the U.S. was given a green light yesterday in Denver, by the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals. Those telecoms maintained that the FCC's mandate did not extend to using the money to pay for Internet service, but a three-judge panel dismissed their challenge. From The Verge: "The FCC originally pitched the program as part of the Universal Service Fund in 2011, noting in a report a year earlier that approximately 14 million people did not have access to broadband. The Connect America Fund aimed to use a portion of customer bills in other areas of the country to build out broadband infrastructure, including cellular data networks in those areas. That would begin with $300 million at the start, and up to $500 million as part of an annual budget."
Re:Yes! (Score:5, Insightful)
With that mentality, the US would never have completed rural electrification nor rural telephone service .. with a net effect of some parts of the US having never gotten out of third world nation conditions.
Re:Yes! (Score:4, Insightful)
So when everyone gives up farming and moves to the city where they can get internet, you'll be coll with that?
That would be so much better than an extra $2/year for internet.
Re:Yes! (Score:5, Insightful)
The FCC is soooo awesome for doing this!
Indeed. I am so grateful that the FCC required me to pay more in order to subsidize the lifestyle choices of other people.
I've never understood the hate as of late.
Me neither. This is such a wonderful country. It would be so unfair if people were expected to deal with the consequences of their own decisions without coerced assistance from people that made more sensible choices.
Those "other people" are generally poor, and didn't chose to live where they do. We're not talking about the dude that lives in the estate outside of town... he'd just get a cellular modem. Most of the people without internet service today are in the rural south, appalachia, the rocky mountains, Indian reservations (the ones that didn't sell out to the casino gods), the dakotas, etc...
I understand that slahdotters are generally "me me me" but give me a fucking break. The small increase you'll see on your phone bill will pale in comparison to the increase later in your income taxes as all "those other people" go on welfare because they can't even access their local jobs website and there's no such thing as newspapers anymore. Crawl out of your miopic hole and view the world from somewhere more than 50ft from your doorstep.
Federal Aid Road Act of 1916 (Score:4, Insightful)
We understood that the Commerce Clause [wikipedia.org] authorized Congress to construct interstate highways. The web is the interstate highway of the 21st century and the Commerce Clause authorizes Congress to invest in a functioning web for all U.S citizens just as much as it did for highways. The FCC doesn't have a vote.
It is of the most fundamental importance that the United States should think in big pieces, should think together, should think ultimately as a whole. [dot.gov]
Re:Yes! (Score:5, Insightful)
I take offense at that "sensible choices" crack. It's a really !@#$ing annoying myth that poor people are poor due to their own choices. I know a lot of poor people that work WAY harder than you ever will. I grew up dirt poor. I got help from the government with food, education, etc. I got lucky, and made it, and I've payed back what I took in help, and then some...
You're basically just putting other people down, and doing so against people you don't like. It's a sterotype, and a myth, and your attitude says more about your lack of empathy than it does about those non existant people that "didn't make sensible choices and don't want to deal with the consequences".
I'm old enough to see that a VAST majority of people make pretty shitty decisions all the time, and that pretty much everyone has no idea how to live their lives. Everyone's making it up as they go along. Naturally, all of YOUR decisions are excellent ones, I'm sure. You've never had help from anyone in your whole life when things didn't work out.
It's always "those people" over there that are ruining everything.
Re:Yes! (Score:4, Insightful)
Then go to some country where there are no taxes.
Assuming you can find this mythical make believe country, it would be a shithole with no public infrastructure.
you take for granted what your taxes buy you. ingrate.