FTTH Council Calls for Broadband Provisions in Economic Stimulus Package
The following release is from the Fiber To The Home Council, released this past week after the council's quarterly meeting in Dallas, TX. FAC
----------release:
Fiber-to-the-Home Council Calls for Broadband Provision in Economic Stimulus Package; Council Aims to Accelerate Deployment of Fiber-to-the-Home
Updated: Thu, Nov 08 11:44 AM EST
news.excite.com
DALLAS, Nov. 8 /PRNewswire/ -- The Fiber-to-the-Home Council today urged the Bush Administration to include broadband legislation in its new, multi-billion-dollar economic stimulus plan. The newly formed Council, which convened its second quarterly meeting today, endorses the Broadband Internet Access Act of 2001, a bipartisan bill that would provide tax credits to companies investing in broadband equipment to serve rural and low-income areas.
"Greater America is starved for broadband services, and our economy is suffering as a result," said FTTH Council President Doug Wrede. "There is no better time than now to allocate resources to broadband. Providing Internet access in outlying areas is like handing someone the proverbial key to the city -- we open the door to a wealth of business and educational development opportunities."
Beneficiaries of the Broadband Internet Access Act's proposed tax incentives are not limited to telecommunications or cable operators. Increasingly, utilities, city municipalities and real estate developers are building broadband networks.
Bob Pinckney, president of Network Telco and member of the FTTH Council, has seen the effects of broadband service first-hand in a new island development outside Charleston, S.C. His company is currently deploying a broadband system that delivers a combination of voice, video and high-speed data services to the home over a single fiber-optic network. "This type of high speed connection allows use of the Internet for telemedicine, distance learning, video streaming and other advanced applications," Pinckney said.
About the FTTH Council
Established in 2001, the FTTH Council's charter is to educate, promote and accelerate the deployment of fiber-to-the-home in North America. The FTTH Council's 61 member companies represent all areas of broadband industries, including telecommunications, computing, networking, system integration, and content-provider companies, as well as traditional telecommunications service providers, utilities, municipalities, and real estate developers. For more information about upcoming events or about joining the FTTH Council, visit ftthcouncil.org
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