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Broadband healthcare networks improve the quality and reduce the cost...

Broadband healthcare networks improve the quality and reduce the cost of delivering care in rural areas, said an FCC Wireline Bureau staff report evaluating the commission’s Rural Health Care Pilot Program (http://xrl.us/bnkkye). The report found that the RHCPP, which supports…

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50 active projects in 38 states, “provides fertile ground to help the Commission determine how best to reform the existing rural health care program, which provides ongoing support for telecommunications and Internet access services.” The report also found that consortium applications for funding are more efficient than applications by individual entities; bulk buying and competitive bidding are “a powerful combination” because they can yield higher bandwidth, lower prices, and better service quality for the pilot projects; and most healthcare providers lack the technical expertise to manage their own broadband networks. “The majority of Pilot projects have created successful broadband networks by purchasing broadband services from a third party, rather than constructing and owning their own broadband facilities,” the report said.