$10 billion takes fiber to every school, hospital in the US
October 9th, 2009
$10 billion takes fiber to every school, hospital in the US
The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation knows how to get things done.
On October 5, the Foundation met with FCC broadband coordinator Blair Levin. The purpose of that meeting was to provide a cost estimate for one of the Foundation’s ideas: running fiber optic cables to every “anchor institution” in the US—libraries, hospitals, community colleges, public schools. By October 8, the FCC was asking for public comment (PDF) on the plan and the viability of its cost estimates, which say the entire project could be completed for $5-$10 billion.
The Gates Foundation has identified 123,000 “anchor institutions” in local communities that could make good use of fiber Internet connections. In addition to serving the community that comes to each institution, the idea is also to run fiber into the center of every community in the country, with the goal of making it easier to then expand Internet access to homes and businesses in the community.
Posted in Arstechnica | 
Tags: Anchor, Bill And Melinda, Bill And Melinda Gates, Bill And Melinda Gates Foundation, Blair Levin, Community Colleges, Cost Estimate, Cost Estimates, Entire Project, Fcc, Fiber Cables, Fiber Optic Cables, Hospitals, Institutions, Internet Access, Internet Connections, Melinda Gates Foundation, October 8, Public Comment, Viability