FCC Eyes Average Internet Speeds for Rural Areas

Officials at the Federal Communications Commission are looking at setting a floor for Internet speed to which all Americans have access, particularly in rural areas which still rely on dial-up Internet service. FCC officials are considering speeds in the 2-4 mbps range, said Blair Levin, a former telecom analyst who's overseeing the FCC's National Broadband Plan. "That's kind of the range. A lot of people say that we ought to have big goals of 100 mbps to every home. When you look at the countries who say they're doing that, what they're doing is offering 100 mbps to some homes," Levin said Monday on the CSPAN show "The Communicators," which airs this weekend. Last week, Rep Rick Boucher (D-VA) -- chairman of the House Communications, Technology and the Internet Subcommittee -- sent a letter to the agency suggesting that 80% of Americans should have access to 50 mbps service by 2015. "I think that's a very worthy goal, but what I think what we want to point out to decision-makers like the congressman, is yeah that's great if we think we have a path for doing it, here's a path," Levin said. "But if that path requires Congress to act in a certain way or the FCC to act in a certain way, here's what they need to do." Providing universal broadband access at 3 mbps would cost about $20 billion, the FCC estimates. The price tag for 50 mbps service across the U.S. would cost more than $50 billion. Much of that investment would have to come from the private sector, Levin says, although the agency is considering changes to a $7 billion annual federal phone subsidy program to fund new Internet lines in rural areas.