Boucher Says 50mb/20mb Should Be Baseline of National Broadband Plan

In a letter to Federal Communications Commission Chairman Julius Genachowski, House Communications Subcommittee Chairman Rick Boucher (D-VA) shares what he believes should be in the National Broadband Plan: universal availability and higher speeds. "The Commission should explicitly endorse a goal for minimum broadband speeds, of at least 50 megabits downstream and 20 megabits upstream for 80 percent of the population by 2015," he said. "Without committing to such ambitious, but achievable, levels of speed and service, the promises of telemedicine, distance learning and telecommuting may remain a far-off dream rather than a near-term reality. If we fail to achieve such a goal, our nation will likely remain well behind other industrialized countries that are racing ahead and gaining a competitive advantage by doing so."