NEWS
Federal Communications Commission
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This is an unofficial announcement of Commission action.  Release of the full text of a Commission order constitutes official action.
See MCI v. FCC. 515 F 2d 385 (D.C. Circ 1974).
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE NEWS MEDIA CONTACT:
March 12, 2010 Jen Howard, (202) 418-0506 
Email: Jen.Howard@fcc.gov
FCC RECOMMENDS OUTFITTING MILITARY INSTALLATIONS WITH ULTRA 
HIGH-SPEED CONNECTIONS
Military and Their Families to Benefit from National Broadband Plan Recommendation
Washington, D.C. – Following consultation with the Department of Defense (DoD), the team 
developing the Federal Communications Commission’s National Broadband Plan has included a 
recommendation that the DoD equip select military installations with ultra high-speed broadband 
connections that would provide military personnel and their families with improved access to 
enhanced broadband connectivity.
“The nation’s military installations house, train, educate, heal, and support tens of thousands of 
service personnel and their families,” said FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski. “These military 
communities should be first in line to benefit from the latest technologies and ultra high-speed 
connectivity. This initiative also has the potential to help spur development of the next 
generation of broadband applications that take advantage of ultra-high speeds.” 
"I'm extremely pleased that the National Broadband Plan will recognize the central role that 
communications technologies play not only in the training and education of military personnel, 
but also in that of their families," said Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense (Network 
and Information Integration)/DoD Chief Information Officer Cheryl J. Roby.”
The FCC’s Plan outlines strategies for providing robust, affordable broadband to the entire 
nation and integrating broadband fully into the American economy and the daily lives of 
Americans. The DoD and FCC have discussed the merit of this proposal and agree this particular 
recommendation will be aligned with the missions of the Armed Forces.  The recommendation 
reflects a tactic in the plan to investigate using federal facilities as a powerful way to push 
broadband more deeply into all corners of the nation.
Military installations typically already have broadband connectivity but are ideal communities 
for ultra high-speed broadband connectivity, due to their scale and the variety of services they 
provide to military personnel and their families.  
The National Broadband Plan will recommend that the Defense Department create a task force, 
in consultation with the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, to make 
recommendations on the selection, level of connectivity, and applications that could be deployed 
and supported.  The military would retain operational control over the requirements and project 
implementation.
The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 directed the FCC to submit a National 
Broadband Plan to Congress that addresses broadband deployment, adoption, affordability, and 
the use of broadband to advance solutions to national priorities.
--FCC--
For more information about the National Broadband Plan, go to www.broadband.gov