Open spectrum can close the broadband gap
That is, citizens of other countries can get more Internet bits for less money than can Americans. The group to the left, partly financed by the EU, is trying to increase wireless service in Europe. It's telling that there is no similar group in the U.S.
Two policies are to blame for this violation of Moore's Law, which is causing the actual costs of delivering bits to continue falling. We have an oligopoly, with just two providers across the country, and (in cities) only competition from cable.
It's both a vertical and horizontal co-monopoly sytem which leaves most consumers with just two broadband choices. Some have just one.
In wireless, Verizon and AT&T are joined by just two other national carriers, meaning there is no effective competition. The policy of auctioning off frequencies for the exclusive use of carriers, and hoping that would result in more service at lower prices, has failed.
Meanwhile growth continues in open spectrum, in unlicensed bands known as WiFi, with services defined by hardware makers subject to power regulation by the FCC.
Thus the answer to the broadband gap is simple. We need more open spectrum.
Start by pressuring those who own spectrum to fully build-out their systems. Publish, on the Web, just how much traffic these frequencies are generating, in order to increase the political pressure.
Then announce a reverse auction. Create a fund from hardware makers and match it, dollar for dollar, with public contributions. The aim would be to buy back spectrum that was previously sold, then release it as unlicensed spectrum under similar rules to WiFi.
Through a combination of pressure to build-out systems and deliver services, along with a reverse auction to increase the amount of unlicensed spectrum, a progressive FCC can dramatically increase the amount of open spectrum available in a relatively short time.
Then you let the private market do the rest.
This plan will be fought tooth-and-nail by Verizon and AT&T, and they fight dirty. Closing the broadband gap, after all, means ending their local monopolies, creating real competition. So what we really face is a test of political will. Money alone won't solve this problem.
But it can be done. And it must be done, if the U.S. is to remain a first-rate technology power.