From the category archives:

Universal Service

Universal Service

Rural Broadband Subsidies: Another Iraq?

by Jerry Ellig on August 10, 2010 View Comments

The majority on the FCC seems hell-bent on establishing rural broadband subsidies as a perpetual entitlement program that will never “solve” the rural availability problem because the goalposts will keep moving.

A Speed Bump on the Road to Universal Broadband?

by Jerry Ellig on July 7, 2010 View Comments

It’s far from obvious how the FCC could legally subsidize broadband with a download speed of 4 mbps.

Hands in the Broadband Till

by Jerry Ellig on May 27, 2010 View Comments

There’s no sense in funding broadband subsidies with a mechanism that discourages people from subscribing to broadband.

More on the FCC’s “Broadband Funding Gap” and Universal Service

by Jerry Ellig on May 19, 2010 View Comments

A more detailed look at the technical analysis underlying the FCC’s broadband goal and the minimal roles afforded to 3G wireless and satellite.

Jerry Ellig on the National Broadband Plan

by Jerry Brito on April 26, 2010 View Comments

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 Episode 16: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Jerry Ellig, a senior research fellow at the Mercatus Center at George Mason University and contributor to the Surprisingly Free blog, talks about the National Broadband Plan. He also discusses network economics, railroads, and electricity distribution.

Broadband Baselines

by Jerry Ellig on April 1, 2010 View Comments

We won’t know the actual effects of policies intended to promote broadband deployment unless we first understand how the market would have evolved without any policy changes.

Cutting the “Broadband Funding Gap” Down to Size

by Jerry Ellig on March 17, 2010 View Comments

The FCC has the ability to solve the $24 billion “broadband funding gap” all by itself, without a dime of new money from taxpayers, broadband subscribers, or telephone subscribers.

FCC Releases Executive Summary of Broadband Plan

by Jerry Ellig on March 15, 2010 View Comments

Here are a few things to look out for when the FCC releases its National Broadband Plan tomorrow.

Broadband Availability: The Dog that Didn’t Bark

by Jerry Ellig on March 3, 2010 View Comments

Only 4 percent of Americans say they don’t have broadband because it isn’t available where they live. But this figure didn’t make the headlines.

What’s Behind Google’s Broadband Plan?

by Gabriel Okolski on February 16, 2010 View Comments

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Is Google’s high-speed broadband network plan an entrepreneurial, competitive foray into the market or an elaborate lobbying attempt to secure government funding in the future?