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Amy Schatz is reporting in the Wall Street journal that the Federal Communications Commission’s National Broadband Plan will propose up to $25 billion in new federal spending for broadband and for a wireless network that would be used by police and firefighters. One of FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski’s (above) goals is to extend 100 megabit per second service to 100 million homes by 2020. 

The plan would spend $9 billion to bring broadband to rural areas faster. That money would be on top of the $7.2 billion already included in the federal stimulus plan.

“The plan will also suggest creating a new broadband account in the federal Universal Service Fund, an $8 billion annual program funded by ratepayers which subsidizes phone service in rural areas and for low-income Americans,” according to Schatz. “The new fund would be devoted to funding broadband in areas that don’t have high-speed Internet service now.”

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