PCCA Journal 3rd Quarter 2013 - page 45

PCCA Journal|3
rd
Quarter 2013
45
areas. By demonstrating the great value of an environment
with unlimited bandwidth for residents and businesses, the
program would propel gigabit connectivity for residents and
businesses throughout the country. Much like the Depart-
ment of Education’s Race to the Top for states, the Gigabit
Communities Race to the Top program would give competi-
tive grants to support deployment and innovation in areas of
the country often left behind, allowing local creativity to plot
a path forward.”
The FTTH Council said its initiative
further advances the goals laid out in the
National Broadband Plan and in former
FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski’s Giga-
bit City Challenge. “For community anchor
institutions, ultra-high speed networks will
allow them to use and develop applica-
tions that cannot operate as envisioned on
today’s slower broadband networks and
will open doors to as-yet-undreamed-of ad-
vances in healthcare, education, and public
safety. In addition, these test-beds will help
drive demand for next generation services
and the improve business case for the de-
ployment of more complete networks in the
communities where they are located.”
“We are entering into the age of the
unlimited bandwidth—finally,” said FTTH
Council Americas President Heather Gold.
“We passionately believe these networks
will lead to the creation of a new genera-
tion of transformational applications that
will promote more rapid investment in and
deployment of ultra-high speed networks
across the country. We know because
we’ve already seen it in those select areas
with all-fiber networks. Now we need to
ensure all communities in the U.S. get it.”
AT&T to Deploy
Broadband
Under CAF Program
The following is an August 20 post on
AT&T’s Public Policy Blog:
“Today, we informed the FCC that AT&T
is willing to accept up to $100 million from
the Connect America Fund (CAF) Phase 1
to deploy broadband to approximately 129,000 locations that
lack any fixed broadband service of at least 768 kbps/200
kbps. Last year, AT&T declined the CAF support that was
available to it, due largely to uncertainty about the com-
pany’s overall strategy for rural areas, as well as uncertainty
about some of the obligations associated with acceptance of
CAF money. In both cases that uncertainty has been resolved
Continued on page 46
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