Broadband Deployment: Status and Federal Programs (CRS Report for Congress)
| Release Date |
Revised June 6, 2019 |
| Report Number |
IF10441 |
| Report Type |
In Focus |
| Authors |
Lennard G. Kruger |
| Source Agency |
Congressional Research Service |
| Older Revisions |
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Summary:
Broadband—whether delivered via fiber, cable modem,
mobile or fixed wireless, copper wire, or satellite—is
increasingly the technology underlying telecommunications
services such as voice, video, and data. Since the initial
deployment of high-speed internet in the late 1990s,
broadband technologies have been deployed throughout the
United States primarily by the private sector. These
providers include telephone, cable, wireless, and satellite
companies as well as other entities that provide broadband
services to residential, business, and institutional customers.
The Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC’s) 2010
National Broadband Plan identified broadband as a basic
infrastructure necessary for improving economic growth,
job creation, civic engagement, global competitiveness, and
a better quality of life. Broadband enables or enhances
applications such as e-commerce, telemedicine, distance
education, telework, entertainment, public safety, and
energy conservation. Increasingly viewing broadband as a
basic infrastructure, Congress and successive
Administrations have focused on addressing gaps
specifically related to broadband availability and adoption.
Broadband availability refers to whether or not broadband
service is offered, while broadband adoption refers to the
extent to which American households actually subscribe to
and use broadband.
