[1st-mile-nm] CenturyLink Accepts Nearly $506 Million in Annual Support from Connect America Fund

[Richard Lowenberg]

Thanks for the comment, Chris.   I easily agree.

Additionally, concerning is that the FCC is subsidizing less than
its stated minimum bandwidth recommendation, with The Connect America 
Fund
support enabling CenturyLink to deliver broadband at speeds of often
no more than 10 Mbps for downloads and 1 Mbps uploads to nearly 1.2 
million
homes and businesses in its rural service areas (where the cost of 
broadband
deployment might otherwise be prohibitive).   This action will only
perpetuate the widening of the rural digital divide for millions.

RL



On 2015-08-27 13:59, Christopher Mitchell wrote:
> I would love to see what some of the local providers could do with $11
> million. Though it may not reach 25,000 in the same time span that
> CenturyLink can owing to its historic monopoly, I suspect the social
> benefits would be significantly larger and would actually lead to more
> investment in the future. Dumping more money into a monopoly that has
> little ambition to ever meet the needs of its captive audience is a
> bad decision.
> 
> Seeing government put $11 million into a company that offers such a
> poor service, whether measured technically or by the customer service,
> is upsetting.
> 
> Not that this is the fault of the employees, who I have no doubt work
> hard. But rather a system designed in the interests of a few to the
> detriment of most of us.
> 
> Christopher Mitchell
> Director, Community Broadband Networks
> Institute for Local Self-Reliance
> 
> http://www.muninetworks.org [5]
> 
> @communitynets
> 612-276-3456 x209 [6]
> 
> On Thu, Aug 27, 2015 at 2:54 PM, Richard Lowenberg <rl at 1st-mile.org>
> wrote:
> 
>> CenturyLink Accepts Nearly $506 Million in Annual Support from
>> Connect America Fund to Expand
>> and Support Broadband for Over 2.3 Million Consumers in 33 States.
>> 
>> The Connect America Fund support will enable CenturyLink to deliver
>> broadband at speeds of at
>> least 10 Mbps for downloads and 1 Mbps uploads to nearly 1.2 million
>> homes and businesses in
>> its rural service areas where the cost of broadband deployment might
>> otherwise be prohibitive.
>> 
>> “CenturyLink’s acceptance of over one-half billion dollars from
>> the Connect America Fund
>> represents a huge investment in broadband for its rural
>> customers,” said FCC Chairman Tom
>> Wheeler. “This is the largest amount accepted by any company to
>> date – and the opportunities
>> that modern broadband will provide for the rural communities
>> CenturyLink serves are priceless.”
>> 
>> The allocation in NM:
>> Number of homes and businesses reached: 25,308
>> Amount to be spent: $10,942,747
>> 
>> 
> http://transition.fcc.gov/Daily_Releases/Daily_Business/2015/db0827/DOC-335071A1.pdf
> 
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-- 
---------------------------------------------------------------
Richard Lowenberg, Executive Director
1st-Mile Institute     505-603-5200
Box 8001, Santa Fe, NM 87504,
rl at 1st-mile.org     www.1st-mile.org
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