Court Approves FCC Plan to Use USF Funds for Rural Broadband → Do we really need ubiquitous wired communication?

Maybe we don't need ubiquitous wired communication. IMO fees and taxes for phone service have become obsolete with growth in internet. VOIP uses virtually no bandwidth and is available to most in the U.S. now. The USF and all phone fees and taxes should be abolished.

Where appropriate the government may want to use general tax revenue to provide wired network infrastructure, elsewhere wireless will likely work well.

well we don't need 3g/4g/lte at $50 for 5GB with $10 for each 1gb over that.

No we don't. However not all wireless needs to come from telephone companies or cell towers. Communities and rural counties can be served by other means.

IMO the FCC should ban use limits for all communications. A pipe sold to a customer should be used as the customer sees fit.

Wired service will typically be less expensive, in the long run, per GB of data transferred.

Yes, we do. Wireless is just not a replacement. Yes, it keeps getting better but it will always be more sensitive to environmental factors. Besides, I have never heard of or seen a wireless carrier, from WISP size to Megacarrier offer unlimited, or reasonable caps at normal competitive prices.

If you like paying $10 per GB overage, Wireless is for you!

The whole point I have is this - we wired the entire USA for POTS back under the Ma Bell/GTE Regime where Universal Service was the policy. This cost unspeakable amounts of money, even back then, but Ma Bell was very rich!

Today, we need to replace this dated infrastructure. The spending (investment) required to build out FTTP would create more jobs, spur more R&D in telecom equipment, and prepare the country for the highly connected future. European and Asian countries are surpassing us on telecom infrastructure...this is not good.

The government is too short sighted/inept/corrupt to realize this.

I don't know if we have ubiquitous wired landline service, and without ever building it out entirely, our ILEC's want to shut it down in favor of VOIP.

Second, the USF is a boondoggle that greatly inflates the cost of phone service.

All phone fees should be eliminated.

Finally, the technology of a WISP is well understood. If the private sector won't, then let state or federal government implement WISP services for those who can't easily get wired service.

At some point, people who live many miles from anywhere, must make a decision to be away from service. We can't spend a million dollars to connect every would be hermit to wired Internet IMO.

I agree with you, those that are in extremely remote locations (less than 1 home per mile, where even traditional POTS does not exist) should be left to their own devices...

However, the telecoms are abandoning small towns, villages...places that were profitable to offer telephone in the not-distant past.

And its not the smaller carriers that are the problem so much as the large ones like VZ or AT&T that have a wireless cash cow. They don't need to provide landline internet service, they can just take these peoples wallets instead with capped, non-consistent wireless.

Back to WISP..yes its well understood. Its quite common where I live as the west side of the county is undeserved by both Comcast and VZ - Comcast built only in and around large towns, VZ put DSL in only the largest town and abandoned the rest of its footprint in the west (east has FIOS). The county has been trying for 7 years now to get VZ to built out FIOS as they promised to in their franchise agreement, with no luck.

So, we have 3 WISPs. All of them are terrible to some degree. Low caps, slow speeds, high prices. The cell carriers offer better service now. Only advantage is one of the WISPs has no caps past midnight, but they are oversold and don't have as complete coverage as the others.

What it comes down to is this...the telcos have been very lazy, they misused funds, and they are entirely focused on delivering their excess money (money that should be used in construction) directly to the shareholders and executives instead. Its hurting them in the long run...Cable TV MSOs will have the last laugh.

We agree more than we disagree. Where we disagree is taxation of services. If throwing money at the connectivity problem would solve it, all problems would be solved.

Instead money is constantly diverted to various corrupt purposes, which do not further true additional infrastructure. Companies which have taken many billions to connect, turn their backs on less profitable users whenever possible.

There seems no solution. When this administration was elected, I voted for it, hoping the FCC and Congress would fix some of the gridlock. Unfortunately things seem as bad as ever, if not worse, as there is likely no hope of ever getting control over large companies in the near future.

Good luck, and hope you get a decent WISP soon.

Thankfully I don't need a WISP since Comcast services my address...and someday if the County Board of Supervisors cranks up the heat, there should be FIOS here too.

Right now my other choice is 3mbit ADSL2 from VZ, on lines that are slowly failing due to water ingress. :/

I think many people had high hopes for this new administration...but it just turned out more of the same, more insane adventures overseas, etc. I wonder how long things can go on like this.