Federal Communications Commission chairman calls for 100-megabit broadband links by 2020

FCC chairman calls for ultra-high-speed broadband

WASHINGTON — The nation’s top telecommunications regulator says he wants 100 million U.S. households to have access to have ultra-high-speed Internet connections by 2020.

Speaking in Washington on Tuesday, Federal Communications Commission Chairman Julius Genachowski said those connections should be 100 megabits per second, several times faster than most home connections now. He also wants the U.S. to establish testbed networks to experiment with even higher broadband speeds.

Both proposals will be part of a national broadband plan that the FCC will deliver to Congress next month. The plan was mandated by last year’s economic stimulus bill.