[kictanet] FW: U.S. to roll out major broadband policy

[Pamela]

Hi Listers,

Thought this was an interesting read....wasnt sure if we have touched on
this bit of regulation here yet (CCK).

 

Pamela

By John Poirier and Sinead Carew John Poirier And Sinead Carew - Sun Mar 14,
8:34 pm ET

 

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20100315/tc_nm/us_usa_broadband

 

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. regulators will announce a major Internet policy
this week to revolutionize how Americans communicate and play, proposing a
dramatic increase in broadband speeds that could let people download a
high-definition film in minutes instead of hours.

Dramatically increasing Internet speeds to 25 times the current average is
one of the myriad goals to be unveiled in the National Broadband Plan by the
the Federal Communications Commission on Tuesday.

The highly anticipated plan will make a series of recommendations to
Congress and is aimed at spurring the ever-changing communications industry
to bring more and faster online services to Americans as they increasingly
turn to the Internet to communicate, pay monthly bills, make travel plans
and be entertained by movies and music.

"This is a fairly unique event," said Paul Gallant, an analyst with Concept
Capital. "The FCC really has never been asked to design a broad regulatory
shift like this. Broadband is important and difficult because it threatens
every established communications sector."

Some details of the plan have trickled out in the last few weeks including
how to find spectrum to meet an anticipated explosion of handset devices
capable of playing movies and music in addition to handling emails and voice
calls.

But some carriers like AT&T Inc and Qwest Communications International Inc
were irked last month when the agency's chief, Julius Genachowski, announced
that the FCC would propose in the plan a goal of 100 Mbps speeds to be in
place at 100 million American homes in 10 years. The current average is less
than 4 Mbps.

In a sign of tension between the FCC and carriers, Qwest called it "a dream"
and AT&T reacted by saying the FCC should resist calls for "extreme forms of
regulation."

Since the FCC announcement, Cisco Systems Inc announced it would introduce a
router that can handle Internet traffic up to 12 times faster than rival
products. Google Inc has also gotten in on the hype, saying it plans to
build a super-fast Internet network to show that it can be done. The FCC has
praised both announcements.

The plans could also touch off tensions with television broadcasters, who
will be asked to give up spectrum to wireless carriers who desperately need
it for their mobile devices, such as the iPhone and Blackberry.

The FCC plans to let them share in the profits of auctions structured to
redistribute the spectrum.

"We've developed a plan that is a real win-win for everyone involved and we
have every expectation that it will work," Genachowski said in an interview
with Reuters.

"We've certainly heard from a number of broadcasters who told us they think
this is a promising direction and are getting ready to roll up their sleeves
with us," he said.

The FCC also wants to make sure that anchor institutions -- government
buildings, schools, libraries and healthcare facilities -- get speeds of
about 1 gigabit per second by 2020.

The full broadband plan is expected to be released at a Tuesday meeting
among the FCC's five members who are expected to discuss the results and
recommendations of the roadmap, which was mandated by Congress. Congress may
have to pass legislation to enact some portions of the plan.

FCC officials have said some of the goals are aspirational and should be
viewed as a "living, breathing" document for the next decade in hopes of
helping 93 million Americans without broadband get connected.

ACHIEVABLE

"It is both aspiration and achievable," Genachowski said.

The Obama administration has touted the plan as a way to create jobs and
make energy use more efficient. 

"It will be a call to action," said Blair Levin, who heads the FCC's
broadband task force which has collected data and comments from the
industry, academics and the public as well as from three dozen public
workshops. 

The FCC has placed most of its attention on broadband policy which Darrell
West, director of governance studies at the Brookings Institution, called
"the signature issue" since Genachowski took over the helm in late June. 

"It means that broadband is going to drive other types of policy decisions
and it really sets the parameters for telecommunications and new
applications," West said. 

FCC officials have said that the plan will not take sides on technology or
applications, but they want to lay the groundwork to spur innovation and job
creation. 

Officials have said the plan will ask Congress to fund up to $16 billion to
build an emergency public safety system. 

It would also tell lawmakers that a one-time injection of $9 billion could
accelerate broadband reach to the 4 percent of Americans who do have access.
Otherwise they could let the FCC carry out a 10-year plan to realign an $8
billion U.S. subsidy program for universal broadband access instead of
universal phone access. 

Experts call the plan ambitious but question if the FCC, which plans to spin
off a series of rule-making proposals linked to the plan, can realistically
make good on its recommendations. 

"There's so little progress on this stuff in Washington," said Rob Atkinson,
who heads the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation. 

"I think Chairman Genachowski has a real opportunity to bring different
warring interests under 50-75 percent of the plan." 

(Reporting by John Poirier and Sinead Carew, editing by Matthew Lewis)


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