FW: FCC Broadband Proposal May Miss Out on Stimulus
Batey, Everett II NAVSEA
One of my BeltWay correspondents and news watchers passed me this .. Maybe
of interest to you.
--
R / Everett
-----Original Message-----
From: Al Nelson
Sent: Wednesday, April 08, 2009 2:41
Networks May Be Built Ahead of Policies
By Cecilia Kang
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, April 8, 2009; A12
The Federal Communications Commission will embark today on a nearly
year-long project aimed at bringing high-speed Internet to every U.S. home,
a process that many hope will bring an agency long focused on arcane
telephone rules into the digital age.
But by the time the FCC creates its plan for broadband, it is likely that
Internet service providers will have claimed much of the $7.2 billion in
stimulus funds set aside to build high-speed networks without major input
from the agency. And that has some worried that the Obama administration's
call to wire the nation risks having taxpayer money going toward projects
that are not needed and have been created without clear guidelines.
"This is a huge deal. . . . Broadband is the central infrastructure
challenge of the early 21st century," acting FCC Chairman Michael J. Copps
said in an interview. "If done right, it will be the most formative
proceeding in the FCC's history."
Currently, broadband funding and the rules for implementing the service are
spread between three government agencies: the FCC, the National
Telecommunications and Information Administration, and the U.S. Department
of Agriculture. While the agencies consult with one another, according to
Copps, they operate as separate organizations with the ability to set their
own rules.
The NTIA and the USDA have been charged with distributing stimulus funds in
three phases; the first is from April to June, and the last before Sept. 30,
2010.
While the FCC will not have a direct role in handing out the funds, it has
been ordered to create a comprehensive plan mapping specific policies to
bring broadband to the nation. The agency is expected to define which speeds
are fast enough to be called broadband and which areas need the service
most.
The FCC currently defines broadband at a minimum speed of 786 kilobits per
second, which critics say is too slow for most video clips and large e-mail
files. Public interest groups have called for minimum speeds of 10, 20 or 50
megabits per second for carriers that receive stimulus grants.
And because there are no clear criteria for determining which areas would
qualify as "underserved" communities, public interest groups say they fear
that stimulus money could be poured into middle- to high-income suburban
communities.
The FCC's plan is due by February 2010.
"Everyone in Washington and throughout the country is questioning the
chronology of the mandates in the Recovery Act," Jessica Zufolo, a telecom
policy analyst at Medley Global Advisors, said of the stimulus bill.
Kyle McSlarrow, head of the cable trade group National Cable &
Telecommunications Association, said that because the FCC is still hammering
out guidelines to help the other agencies grant applications, the first
phase of funds by the NTIA may be smaller and go to areas where there
clearly isn't any Internet service.
"The good news is that everyone is conscious of the risk of putting the cart
before the horse and so they will be as careful as they can to make sure
that doesn't happen," McSlarrow said.
Ideally, the FCC's plan would have been in place before stimulus funds were
granted, say tech advisers who helped craft President Obama's broadband
strategy. But the urgency of the economic crisis called for quick ways to
create jobs, including through broadband deployment, they said.
"We need the stimulus to create jobs that are timely, targeted and
temporary," said Larry Irving, a former head of the NTIA and an adviser to
Obama's transition team. "That was the first stage of a multistage effort to
get our arms around national broadband strategy."
Analysts said the FCC would probably look at existing policies to see how
they could be used to expand broadband access and adoption. One possible
change is of a $7 billion federal phone subsidy that many say should be used
for broadband, particularly as consumers increasingly cut traditional phone
service and use their cell phones for all voice communication.
Carriers like Sprint have called on the FCC to alter pricing rules that
allow big telecom providers to charge higher rates for smaller competitors
to use parts of their networks. Sprint says the money they would save
through changes in special access rules could be used for more wireless
broadband.
Zufolo said many wireless providers are excited about a bill introduced by
Sens. John F. Kerry (D-Mass.) and Olympia J. Snowe (R-Maine) that would
require the FCC and Department of Commerce to inventory all available radio
spectrum. Currently, it is unclear outside those agencies how much spectrum
is available and what is not being used. Wireless operators see the data as
a key lobbying point for more spectrum auctions so that they can boost their
networks.
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Jack Unger
Thanks but 95% of the "news" articles these days seem to be written by
writers with the uncanny skill of creating confusion instead of creating
clarity. I guess they need to write something to keep collecting their
paychecks. What, in your opinion, are the top three points made in this
article?
Respectfully,
jack
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