[kictanet] FW: U.S. to roll out major broadband policy - Why Kenya should follow suit

Tue Mar 16 17:23:23 EAT 2010

Dear Listers,

Again, a clear illustration that Broadband access/coverage is key to the
growth in national economies.It is an engine, a driver and 
vehicle (all rolled in one), through which some of the national visions -
such as "vision 2030" in our case can be realized.

As a nation aiming at better things ahead, we do not need to re-learn
through "trial and error",but conduct  case studies of such 
measures being undertaken elsewhere in established economies to engineer and
stimulate growth. 

Clearly, while we would stay contented to let innovation and investment play
the key role in helping us define parameters such as
coverage, quality and pricing, the industry stands to lose the gains so far
made since liberalization unless the Policy and regulatory
frameworks resolutely show "muscle".  And here,  "showing muscle" in this
case does not mean "standing in the way". It means 
steering, guiding a broad national policy based on multi stakeholder
consultations, monitoring, enforcement of compliance, reviews, 
etcetra  - all aimed at National good, then letting innovation and
competition take their own course.

Suffice it to say, the industry seems to bend too much right now in the
direction of the "innovation and investing side". We seem to 
be letting the players in the industry define coverage and access, quality
and pricing at the same time. All this, at the expense of the 
consumer - much more, at the expense of growth, I must say. When a service
provider for example promises to deliver broadband,at 
certain measure, quality  and cost, it is the regulatory framework in place
to ensure the end user is getting value for money. When 
end users lodge complains,let's see some decisive measures being undertaken.
When products/services are overpriced, regulatory 
needs to step in and protect the consumer.

Beyond this,aiming higher in quality, access and coverage should be the
ultimate goal. Achievable benchmarks in the national 
broadband policy need to be set, and reviewed from time to time. A cross
multistakeholder forum will be key in achieving these 
important national priorities..

Harry

  _____  

From: kictanet-bounces+harry=comtelsys.co.ke at lists.kictanet.or.ke
[mailto:kictanet-bounces+harry=comtelsys.co.ke at lists.kictanet.or.ke] On
Behalf Of Pamela
Sent: Monday, March 15, 2010 12:46 PM
To: harry at comtelsys.co.ke
Cc: KICTAnet ICT Policy Discussions
Subject: [kictanet] FW: U.S. to roll out major broadband policy

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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