The NewsDemon Blog

The Federal Communications Commission plans to bring access to broadband service to Americans currently unable to take advantage of the service. The plan is to adapt the Universal Service Fund to allow the FCC to bring broadband to those who do not have access.

The fund is a 14-year-old government fund worth about $8 billion that helps to bring telecom services to low income and rural areas. The new plan would transfer some of that money dedicated to phone services to a broadband fund. The idea is that by making broadband access more readily available in these areas it will help the country keep pace with the growing technological market.

“If we want the United States to be the world’s leading market for innovative new products and services that drive economic growth, job creation and opportunity, we need to embrace the essential goal of universal broadband, and reform outdated programs so that we are investing in 21^st century communications infrastructure all over the country,” said FCC chairman Julius Genachowski.

The FCC will vote on the new plan at the end of October. It would help to bring broadband access to hundreds of thousands of homes in 2012, and would help to cut in half the number of Americans that are currently unable to access broadband internet over the next five years. The goal is to achieve universal broadband access within the next ten years.

With greater broadband access, business in the area would be better connected, which could allow for business growth in those areas. The FCC also points out the job creation that could take place in the construction industry from building the new infrastructure in the areas.

Usenet, an active community of sharing, debate and discussion of varying topics, could see an increase in its community as more people have access to high-speed internet. Premium providers such as NewsDemon typically allow users connection speeds as high as is allowable by their internet provider. With higher speeds, files download faster and activity could increase in those areas.

Usenet has been around since before the Internet and continues to benefit from the new technologies and greater internet access around the world.