The cost of not having access to broadband connections is rising, FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski told Wired Magazine, as high-speed Internet connections become as ubiquitous as newspapers and even more critical: "Ten years ago, if you were looking for a job, you could get a newspaper. Today, classifieds have moved online, and you're at a real disadvantage if you don't have broadband access," he said. "If your kid doesn't have broadband access, that's a real disadvantage for participating in modern education. You don't have access to health care information online as we move to electronic medical records. That's why it's so essential why we tackle the broadband challenge."
Genachowski said companies-which already have spent billions on building out fiber-need to spend more, and he reiterated the FCC's goal to have 100 million homes connected to 100Mbps broadband.
He also said companies need to give consumers better speeds at lower cost and need to be more transparent.
For more:
- see this Wired interview