Broadband Over Power Lines
President Obama is in Cedar Falls, Iowa on Wednesday to unveil a proposal to make broadband internet in the US faster and cheaper. The plan includes lifting laws in 19 states that forbid cities and towns from building their own broadband networks and a grants and loans program for carriers to bring broadband to rural areas. The President will announce the executive action in his State of the Union address next week.
The White House released a YouTube video on Tuesday previewing the President’s speech in Cedar Falls.
The broadband network in the Iowa city of 40,000 residents is being held up as an example of a successful municipal broadband system. It’s one of the fastest networks in the world and the fastest in the country.
But can the Cedar Falls system be replicated in other cities? What are the challenges?
Guests:
Craig Settles, broadband industry analyst and consultant who works with communities who work on broadband planning based in Northern California
Michael Santorelli, co-director, Advanced Communications Law and Policy Institute at New York Law School, who co-authored a research study on the Cedar Falls system