House Commerce Committee Approves Broadband Stimulus

The House Commerce Committee approved portions of the economic stimulus bill moving through Congress including about $3 billion in grants to expand Internet service in rural and hard-to-serve areas over objections from several Republican members. Committee Chairman Henry Waxman (D-CA) said the $3 billion in grants was aimed at "service providers, infrastructure companies, or a state or unit of local government." Under the plan, the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) - the agency currently in charge of the DTV transition - would have two years to develop a map of broadband availability throughout the United States and post that data on a publicly available Web site. NTIA would also be able to hand out grants to those willing to build out broadband service, wireless voice service, and advanced wireless broadband service. For wireless grants, 25 percent of the money will go toward voice services and 75 percent of the funds will be designated for advanced wireless broadband service. The bill includes a provision opposed by mobile phone companies would require Internet service providers that receive grant money to abide by so-called "open access" principles, which bar providers from discriminating against applications and content requiring more bandwidth. Lawmakers who support the funding say it will create jobs to help jumpstart the ailing economy. A Brookings Institution study found that every one percentage point increase in broadband penetration per year could yield 300,000 jobs.