In Plain English, Every FCC Advanced Network (Section 706) Screwed America and Created the Digital Divide.
READ OUR STORY ON THE FCC SPEED BUMPS
By the year 2006, 86 million households should have been rewired with fiber optics, delivering an incredible array of new very high-speed advanced services-100 times faster than current Bell advanced network, DSL. Using these promises, the Bells were able to get deregulation and change state and federal laws, which gave them more profits to be used for new construction.
§ AT&T == Ameritech, BellSouth, Pacific Telesis, SBC, and AT&T
§ Verizon == GTE, NYNEX and Bell Atlantic
§ Lumen ==CenturyLink, and US West
And the FCC rewrote history by failing to incorporate all of these commitments, all the monies charged to local phone customers and the failure to properly upgrade the state telecommunications public utility copper infrastructure with fiber.
Section 706 Advanced Network reports are an annual report to Congress on whether broadband is being deployed in a timely fashion. And all of this was based on the collection of statements, commitments and all sorts of hype that the largest telecommunications holding companies that controlled the wires (including wireless) would be delivering fiber to the home to All Americans, with the expectation of speeds being multi-gig by 2010.
First, here is a collection of some of the promises of what is now AT&T, Verizon and Lumen.
Ameritech Investor Fact Book, March 1994 “Ameritech is building a two-way video communications network to bring a new generation of interactive television services to consumers across the Midwest….Ameritech is in discussion with many Midwestern communities and plans to reach about 1 million customers by the end of 1996 and 6 million by the year 2001.”==”We’re building a video network that will extend to six million customers within six years
Pacific Telesis 1993 Annual Report: “In November 1993, Pacific Bell announced a capital investment plan totaling $16 billion over the next seven years to upgrade core network infrastructure and to begin building California’s “Communications superhighway”. This will be an integrated telecommunications, information and entertainment network providing advanced voice, data and video services. Using a combination of fiber optic and coaxial cable, Pacific Bell expects to provide broadband services to more than 1.5 million homes by the end of 1996, 5 million homes by the end of the decade.”
Pacific Telesis 1994 Fact Book Consumer Broadband Speeds NOTE: These speeds are 50–750 times faster than the current Bell roll out of ADSL. Forward is to the customer, reverse is leaving the customer’s premises.
§ 50–750 MHz Forward Direction
§ 40–50 MHz Crossover Area
§ 5–40 MHz Reverse Direction
Bell Atlantic 1993 Annual Report “First, we announced our intention to lead the country in the deployment of the information highway…We will spend $11 billion over the next five years to rapidly build full-service networks capable of providing these (interactive, multi-media communications, entertainment and information) services within the Bell Atlantic Region.
“We expect Bell Atlantic’s enhanced network will be ready to serve 8.75 million homes by the end of the year 2000. By the end of 1998, we plan to wire the top 20 markets… These investments will help establish Bell Atlantic as a world leader in what is clearly the high growth opportunity for the 1990’s and beyond.”
Bell Atlantic Press Release, July 1996. “Later this year, Bell Atlantic will begin installing fiber-optic facilities and electronics to replace the predominantly copper cables between its telephone switching offices and customers.”
“Bell Atlantic plans to begin its network upgrade in Philadelphia and southeastern Pennsylvania later this year. The company plans to expand this Full Service Network deployment to other key markets over the next three years. Ultimately, Bell Atlantic expects to serve most of the 12 million homes and small businesses across the Mid-Atlantic region with switched broadband networks.” (Emphasis added)
NYNEX, 1993 Annual Report “We’re prepared to install between 1.5 and 2 million fiber-optic lines through 1996 to begin building our portion of the Information Superhighway.”…”Fiber to the curb. Fiber to the curb, (FTTC) systems bring fiber =-optic cable into the ‘local’ loop,’ the final link between customers and our network. in 1993, NYNEX’s progress in deploying fiber technology continued when we signed an agreement with Raynet Corporation to purchase FTTC hardware and software for 130,000 subscriber lines through next year. “
SNET 1993 Annual Report…On January 13, 1994, the Telephone Company announced its intention to invest $4.5 billion over the next 15 years to build a statewide information superhighway (“I-SNET”). I-SNET will be an interactive multimedia network capable of delivering voice, video and a full range of information and interactive services. The Telephone Company expects I-SNET will reach approximately 500,000 residences and businesses through 1997.
GTE Video Services: Past And Future, GTE press Release, January 1996: In 1991, GTE Telephone Operations became the first telephone company in the United States to offer interactive video services. The company’s Cerritos Project, in Cerritos, Calif., was the world’s first comprehensive test of interactive video technology and services. Offerings included video on demand, videophone, enhanced video-education applications, and a CD-Interactive test by GTE.
Expanding on this success, the company in 1994 announced plans to build video networks in 66 key markets in the next 10 years. When completed, the new network will pass 7 million homes and will provide broadcast, cable and interactive television programming. GTE Telephone Operations will invest about $250 million to build broadband video networks in four markets during 1995. GTE’s pending applications seek authority to build hybrid fiber-optic and coaxial-cable video networks in Ventura County, Calif.; St. Petersburg and Clearwater, Fla.; Honolulu, Hawaii; and northern Virginia. The 1995 video investments are in addition to the approximately $2.7 billion GTE spends each year to upgrade and maintain its national telecommunications network.
U S West 1993 Annual Report: “In 1993 the company announced its intentions to build a ‘broadband’, interactive telecommunications network… US West anticipates converting 100,000 access lines to this technology by the end of 1994, and 500,000 access lines annually beginning in 1995.
BellSouth February 7, 1995: “The Common Carrier Bureau has granted the application of BellSouth Telecommunications, Inc. (BST) to conduct an 18-month technical and market trial of video dialtone service that will pass 12,000 homes outside Atlanta. BST proposed to construct a broadband fiber optic-coaxial cable network for video and telephony, initially offering each subscriber 70 analog channels and approximately 240 digital video channels. According to BST, this network will be capable of providing a variety of programming services, including traditional television programming, enhanced pay-per-view, video-on-demand, and interactive educational, home shopping, and health care services.”
20+ FCC filings since 1998
New Networks Institute, (with Teletruth) and the IRREGU:LATORS filed in the first Section 706 inquiry in 1998, where we outlined that the FCC had neglected to actually include and investigate all of the state -based fiber optic plans, controlled by these holding companies, or that customers were being charged extra. We filed over 20 times — and predicted the Digital Divide, the failure of these companies to fulfill their obligations, or the fact that the FCC ignored that the speed in multiple states was 45mbps in both directions. In order to accommodate the slow services, the FCC decided to use 200Kbps. 1/5th of 1Mbps)
In 2025, the FCC is proposing to abolish 1Gig speeds, to allow for inferior wireless, satellite services to get government subsidies. This is instead of auditing the current books of the companies and halting billions per state in cross-subsidies and other overcharging .
FILING: 2017: SUMMARY: 19 YEARS OF FCC SECTION 706 COMMENTS AND COMPLAINTS
Before the Federal Communications Commission, In the Matter of Inquiry Concerning Deployment of, Advanced Telecommunications Capability to All Americans in a, Reasonable and Timely Fashion GNDocke t №17–199 — a
“In this proceeding documents all of the material facts that were left out and created a distorted storyline. And these statements and commitments were the first wave of deceptive actions to get deregulation and then use the newfound rate increases and the cash went to other projects of the affiliates of the Holding Company
