Speed Matters: U.S. Needs to Boost Universal, Affordable Access to Broadband
CWA's fourth annual Speed Matters report comparing broadband speeds in every state was rolled out at a news conference with President Larry Cohen, FCC Chair Julius Genachowski, and key coalition members in the campaign to improve access and affordability of high speed broadband. Leaders from the NAACP, Sierra Club, Alliance for Digital Equality, and from Charles City County, Va., a Richmond area community where more than half the residents don?t have any access to broadband, joined the event, comparing the needed buildout of high speed broadband to projects decades ago that brought U.S. residents the interstate highway system, electricity in rural communities and other public gains.Currently, nearly half of all U.S. residents don't meet the FCC's miniumum speed standard of 4 megabits per second (Mbps) download and 1 Mbps upload, the report found. Cohen commended the FCC for its work to improve broadband deployment, connection speeds and adoption, especially in rural and lower-income urban areas. "By buildin
