FCC’s Genachowski Issues Gigabit City Challenge to Bring at least One Ultra-Fast Gigabit Internet Community to Every State in U.S. by 2015

At the U.S. Conference of Mayors Winter Meeting, Federal Communications Commission Chairman Julius Genachowski called for at least one gigabit community in all 50 states by 2015.

Challenging broadband providers and state and municipal community leaders to come together to meet this “Gigabit City Challenge,” Chairman Genachowski said that establishing gigabit communities nationwide will accelerate the creation of a critical mass of markets and innovation hubs with ultra-fast Internet speeds. Chairman Genachowski said, “American economic history teaches a clear lesson about infrastructure. If we build it, innovation will come. The U.S. needs a critical mass of gigabit communities nationwide so that innovators can develop next-generation applications and services that will drive economic growth and global competitiveness.” To help communities meet the Gigabit City Challenge, Chairman Genachowski announced plans to create a new online clearinghouse of best practices to collect and disseminate information about how to lower the costs and increase the speed of broadband deployment nationwide, including to create gigabit communities.

At the U.S. Conference of Mayors meeting, Chairman Genachowski proposed working jointly with the U.S. Conference of Mayors on the best-practices clearinghouse effort. Chairman Genachowski also announced that the FCC will hold workshops on gigabit communities. The workshops will convene leaders from the gigabit community ecosystem—including broadband providers, and state and municipal leaders— to evaluate barriers, increase incentives, and lower the costs of speeding gigabit network deployment. Together, the workshops will inform the Commission’s clearinghouse of ways industry, and local and state leaders can meet the challenge to establish gigabit communities nationwide.