FCC national broadband plan: a vision for the nation

[[Commentary] The national broadband plan for America argues that high-speed Internet service is as vital to America's economy as electric power.

Everyone should have access to it. Everyone should be able to afford it. As anyone who writes a school report, looks for a job, buys something on eBay, or watches videos on YouTube knows, that's a pretty easy case to make. The Federal Communications Commission does so in its National Broadband Plan. The question is, how does America go from 200 million broadband users at home to adding another 100 million (just about everyone) by 2020? The FCC has a lot of details still to fill in with this report, which received the general support of all of the commissioners in a statement today. Parts of it, industry objects to. Parts of it, Congress will have to approve. But the commission has done right by providing a goal and a vision for the country.

Why should Americans settle for less when, in a country like South Korea, most of its population can receive data at speeds more than 25 times faster than in the US?