Re: New minimum speed for US broadband connections

[Josh Luthman <josh () imaginenetworksllc com>]

CAF/RDOF *requires phone service*.  The internet was a happy byproduct.

Josh Luthman
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On Wed, Jun 2, 2021 at 3:18 PM heasley <heas () shrubbery net> wrote:

> Wed, Jun 02, 2021 at 01:02:00PM -0400, Josh Luthman:
> > Phone is telecom.  Internet is not telecom.  Generally speaking.
> >
> > If you think both of those services are US funded, why do you think we
> have
> > this current situation where not everyone has fiber?
> >
> > To answer your question, there is some assistance to those big companies
> > (AT&T, Frontier, CenturyLink).  Did you notice that two of them have
> filed
> > bankruptcy recently?  They also wrote letters apologizing they didn't
> > deploy the services they were paid to do.
> >
> > USF is for phone.  Not internet.
>
> I believe that is incorrect.  afaik, 4 Internet connectivity programs have
> been created within the USF.  iirc, that occured 7 - 10 years ago.  I think
> CAF granted ~1.5T in its last phase.
>
> All support/subsidy for traditional dial-tone from the USF should be
> redirected to voip and internet.
>
> A significant problem with USF grants is that grantees are not required
> to serve an entire FCC census tract (an area much smaller than a USPS
> zip code) when they accept a grant to service it.  Meaning that if just a
> portion, the most convenient portion, of a census tract is serviced, the
> FCC is satisfied and then considers the entire tract served.  Which is
> exactly what happened to my area, thanks FCC & Comcast - who also will not
> discuss extending it the ~.5 mile to reach me and neighbors.
>
> I'd be delighted to have 25M symmetrical.  What I can buy at consumer
> prices (~$55 MRC) is .8M/.8M DSL (MTR > 30 days for a few neighbors after
> the last storm).  If I were located about 1.5 in any direction, I could
> buy 100M/100M or 1G/100M.  No viable 4G or 5G options.  There is Sprint
> fiber about 300 feet away, but I'm told it is voice only.  There is
> Zayo fiber about .5 miles away, 100M for ~$1k MRC lit or ~$4k dark to
> the telco hotel, but it also has other challanges.