FCC to fast track fiber to schools and libraries
A big component of the Federal Communication Commission’s national broadband strategy is to turn “anchor institutions”—schools, libraries, and government buildings—into 1Gbps hubs of community access for high speed Internet. The agency took that agenda one step further on Tuesday by announcing that schools and libraries will soon be able to use E-Rate funds to obtain access to unused fiber-optic connections around the country, sometimes known as “dark fiber” lines.
“With these fiber networks, schools and libraries can provide students and communities with cutting-edge connectivity, while at the same time saving millions of dollars by bypassing more expensive options,” the draft proposal explains.
Headline
When I first read the headline I put the word “fiber” in the wrong context. This is what I envisioned:
You weren’t the only one
A FriendFeed thread makes it clear that a number of us, myself included, read the headline that way. “Why would the FCC be involved with nutrition?” In some ways, that would be a more interesting (if bizarre) story.