A CALL TO ACTION: A NEW RURAL BROADBAND STRATEGY

Date：2017-08-01 News sources：本站 Reading times：

This article is sourcing from the Whitepaper of the Rural Broadband Strategy released by Microsoft. All rights are reserved by Microsoft. More detailed information could be found as following link:

https://news.microsoft.com/rural-broadband/

Microsoft will invest in partnerships with telecommunications companies with the goal of bringing broadband connectivity to 2 million people in rural America by July 4, 2022.

With our network operator partners, Microsoft will have 12 projects in 12 states up and running within the next 12 months in Arizona, Georgia, Kansas, Maine, Michigan, New York, North Dakota, South Dakota, Texas, Virginia, Washington, and Wisconsin. And they will continue to grow further from this substantial start.

This new focus can bring broadband coverage to rural America in this timeframe based on a new strategic approach that combines private sector capital investments focused on new technologies with affordable public sector support.

A combination of new technologies can substantially reduce the cost of extending broadband coverage across the nation. Specifically, a technology model that uses a combination of wireless technology leveraging the TV white spaces spectrum, LTE fixed wireless, and satellite coverage can reduce the initial capital and operating costs by roughly 80 percent compared with the cost of using fiber cables alone; and by approximately 50 percent compared with the cost of current LTE fixed wireless technology.

We believe a new rural broadband strategy makes this feasible. And with Microsoft’s Rural Airband Initiative, we are prepared to put our own resources and energy behind this effort.

We also believe there is an opportunity for other companies large and small to join in with market-based investments.

We all have the opportunity to innovate together—achieving together what none of us can accomplish alone.