The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) today launched the first phase of its "national broadband plan" to bring affordable, high-speed Internet to all Americans. As part of the economic stimulus plan passed by Congress, the agency must complete the plan by February 17, 2010.
The FCC began the process through an open meeting this morning in Washington, D.C., where it solicited public input from interested parties on several key issues relating to broadband access, including:
• How to achieve broadband access for Americans most effectively
• Evaluating current broadband deployment programs, including grants, for success or failure
• How to best use broadband to improve the economy, health care, energy independence, job creation, public safety, and national security
"Broadband can be the great enabler that restores America’s economic well-being and opens doors of opportunity for all Americans to pass through, no matter who they are, where they live, or the particular circumstances of their individual lives," said acting FCC chairman Michael Copps. "It is technology that intersects with just about every great challenge confronting our nation."
Under the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act, Congress granted $7.2 billion for investment in broadband access expansion, to be coordinated by the FCC and disbursed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture`s (USDA) rural broadband initiative, and the Commerce Department`s National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA).
The three agencies are holding multiple public meetings across the country to get input from citizens, businesses, local and state governments, and entrepreneurs on the best ways to invest the stimulus money.
FCC Commissioner Jonathan Adelstein, who is resigning his position to head up the USDA`s broadband disbursement efforts, said that the plan "will require unprecedented [federal] interagency coordination, which we are already seeing on a scale that dwarfs any efforts in the previous Administration."
President Barack Obama made extension of broadband access a priority plank in his electoral campaign, drawing a contrast between himself and former President Bush, who was criticized for not doing more to address the "digital divide" of lack of affordable, accessible Internet service for minority, low-income, and rural communities.
According to media watchdog group Free Press, even within America`s most tech-savvy cities, including Washington, D.C. and Los Angeles, many communities and neighborhood have little or no access to high-speed Internet service, and the high costs put broadband out of reach for many families.
"In Washington, where BlackBerries are everywhere, only 52 percent of homes are connected to broadband," the group said in its report, Wired Less: Disconnected in Urban America. "In total, more than 240,000 D.C. residents are not connected to the Internet at home, and nearly 160,000 have no Internet access at all."
S. Derek Turner, research director for Free Press, said that it was crucial that the broadband plan not fall victim to previous approaches which favored deregulatory, hands-off policies — leading to higher prices, lower speeds, and less competition among Internet service providers.
"If we want to see any improvement in the availability and adoption of broadband in this country, we need a strong government watchdog and a broadband plan that puts the public interest ahead of Wall Street`s whims," Turner said.
