United States President Barack Obama, through National Telecommunications and Information Administration Chief Lawrence Strickling, is now calling for more radio spectrum availability from federal regulators that would allow wireless Internet service providers to compete against broadband plans being provided by major cable and phone companies.
In a letter to the Federal Communications Commission, Strickling said on Monday that paving way for the wireless Internet connection will give users more options and hope to lower prices of broadband by injecting new competition into the duopoly of the Internet service market in the US today.
“Finding more radio spectrum for wireless Internet connections is therefore a primary tool for promoting broadband competition,” Strickling said in the letter.
The NTIA chief has included in the letter the inputs of the department while asking the FCC to draft an initial plan for the said program, which could potentially bring a more affordable high-speed Internet connection to millions of Americans.
Strickling also revealed that the plan, in accordance with the 2009 stimulus bill, is due to come out next month.
Based on the acquired documents, the NTIA letter focused heavily on the recently analysis of the US Justice Department, which was filed with the FCC on Monday, over the state of competition among broadband providers.
Strickling said that the analysis, which states that it is still premature to know whether the next-generation wireless Internet access will be able to compete with broadband connection in terms of speed and reliability, which the phone and cable companies boasted.
Earlier, the Justice Department warned that the duopoly in the wire-based networks and the cost of building such structures would mean limited competition giving phone and cable companies to dictate the prices of their services.
The NTIA said the exploration of airwaves would make it more efficient for the FCC and other technology companies to develop new gadgets that would allow users to access the Internet with just the faction of the price being offered by broadband plans.
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