Obama's $8B Broadband Plan Launches Tuesday

Washington Post ^

[Chet 99]

Obama's $8B Broadband Plan Launches Tuesday Next Tuesday, the White House will launch its high-speed Internet plan using more than $8 billion in stimulus funds. Leaders from the Department of Commerce, Department of Agriculture and Federal Communications Commission will meet to discuss how the different agencies will use the funds to rural and other areas that don't currently have high-speed, or broadband, access to the Web.

There are separate programs at the Commerce Department's National Telecommunications & Information Administration and the USDA's Rural Utilities Service that fund construction of new high-speed Internet networks. They are mostly focused on rural areas where carriers have not built their networks because of the high costs of laying down fiber, cable lines and other services that are sparsely populated.

[ViLaLuz]

“The big question is, “why is this a federal problem?”

It’s not fair that only the working people have access to porn.

[ApplegateRanch]

In my rural area I not only can't get DSL, cable, fiber or anything else, I can't even get a satellite dish because the foothills of the Blue Ridge mountains block the portion of the sky I need. I can't get local channels on satellite either. And yeah, I still choose to live here so there you have it.

We all have our crosses to bear. I have co-op phone & broadband. I have a view of the southern sky, so get satellite TV, including "local" channels...they won't even sell an antennas in this area as it is a "dead zone" to transmitted signals. I get co-op power. We get propane deliveries when needed.

My cross is having to haul a 450 gallon water tank 8 miles each way, 4 of that unpaved, to keep our cistern tanks full. Doesn't matter if it is -20, or 100F, if we want to drink, cook, and bathe; or water the garden, if the cistern needs filling, then rain, shine, or ice & snow, it has to be done.

Let me tell you from experience, it is a whole heck of a lot easier to make do without broadband &/or TV, than it is to do without water. $30/foot for 500-800' average well depths, then the cost of pump, pipe, wiring, labor, another meter base & pole, trenching deep enough to prevent freezing, and all the rest is rather prohibitive. In fact, it comes to about the price of a decent 4X4, a poly tank, and enough fuel and upkeep to to keep on houling.

If they want to spend money to "help rural Americans", I know of several counties that would be a lot better off with some water lines, rather than broadband lines.

100 years ago, before "CLIMATE CHANGE" (sarc) this property had a flowing creek, employed several year round workers, and more temps in the harvest season, and supplied fresh fruit, berries, and cider to a three state area; and also sold newly grafted fruit trees and rooted berry plants to other growers. Now, it is marginal dry grazing and scrub timber land, with dry creek beds. With water, it would again be economically productive, rather than just a "sustainable" homestead.

And yeah, I still choose to live here so there you have it.