For Immediate Release July 1, 2010
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has proposed a new broadband plan that may impact your service. The proposal promises Internet speeds of 100 Mbps to at least 100 million Americans by the year 2020, but establishes a dangerously low threshold of just 4 Mbps for rural/high cost areas such as the Oklahoma Panhandle. Rural consumers, businesses, farms, hospitals, schools, libraries, etc. will have substandard service while urban areas get speeds of 25 times faster. Reliable, high-speed broadband has become the essential service of today. Broadband can improve the lives of all consumers, but access is especially important for those of us living in rural America. The Internet gives small businesses the opportunity to reach customers nationwide, offers local students the chance to take classes online and allows doctors to remotely diagnose patients and even offer remote emergency care.
The Communications Act requires that rural consumers have access to communications services at prices that are affordable and reasonably comparable to those available in urban areas. Rather than support this same universal service philosophy for broadband, the FCC’s plan offers faster, better services to some Americans while guaranteeing lesser service to others.
Don’t let the FCC keep our rural community on the slow side of the digital divide. You deserve comparable speed at affordable prices. The FCC and Congress must redirect the broadband plan to ensure 100 Mbps service is the goal for ALL consumers, not just a select few. Contact your congressional representative. Urge them to support regulatory action that ensures equal access to broadband for all Americans.
Senator James Inhofe
1900 NW Expressway St., Suite 1210
Oklahoma City, OK 73118
Phone: 202-224-4721/Web Address: inhofe.senate.gov
Senator Tom Coburn
100 N. Broadway, Suite 1820
Oklahoma City, OK 73102
Phone: 202-224-5754/Web Address: coburn.senate.gov
Congressman Frank Lucas
2728 Williams Ave., Suite F
Woodward, OK 73801
Phone: 580-256-5752/Web Address: www.house.gov/lucas
To learn more about this issue, contact a PTCI Public Relations Representative at 338-2556.
