Just a week ago, I wrote about the upcoming broadcast spectrum auction and how using the 700 MHz spectrum could provide universal broadband access for those who either can't afford Cable or DSL or fiber, or who live in parts of the country that cannot access broadband due to under-investment by the cable and telecom companies. Now, Kerry has come out in favor of fair FCC auction rules, and argues that everyone should be able to get broadband
A very important piece of public property is about to be auctioned off. You won’t find it on a map, but it is prime real estate. And the sale of this property has profound implications for schools, businesses, emergency first responders, rural communities and the future of wireless communication and innovation in America.
In the upcoming 700 MHz spectrum auction, the Federal Communications Commission will auction off an important slice of our airwaves. The FCC has a choice: It can either provide extraordinary benefits to millions of Americans or tilt bandwidth policy to line the pockets of a privileged few.
Kerry also goes on to say that broadband access is also scarce nation-wide:
Today, from rural areas to big cities, more than 60 percent of the country does not subscribe to broadband service — many because they do not have access to broadband Internet service or simply cannot afford it. Last year in Massachusetts — a state known for being a nationwide leader in technological advances — less than half our residents had broadband service — and that was the fourth-best rate in the country.
Having universal broadband could also bring competition against natural monopolies, who run a patchwork of systems in this country that are slower and over-priced relative to other countries. With broadband from the broadcast spectrum, people can access speeds up to 80 Mbps rivaling even FiOS.
Oh...and lest we forget the similar issue of net neutrality, Time Warner has decided to start ass-fucking users by slowing down their connections when they use high-bandwidth programs such as VoIP.