National Broadband Plan (Comments Due)

This congressionally requested report discusses 1) the federal broadband deployment policy, principal federal programs, and stakeholders' views of those programs; 2) how the policies of OECD nations with higher subscribership rates compare with US policy; and 3) actions the states have taken to encourage broadband deployment.

Who says there is no cosmic irony in the bland world of telecom? On the day after thousands and thousands of pages were filed with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) on a new national broadband plan, General Motors announced its new post-bankruptcy chairman - Ed Whitacre, the former chairman of AT&T.

Consumer advocates are urging the Federal Communications Commission to reclassify high-speed Internet access as a telecommunications service, a major change that would have sweeping implications for cable and phone providers of broadband.

The American Cable Association is taking aim at Internet content suppliers, saying charging sub fees for Internet content could "cripple" the nation's plan to deliver broadband to every household. ACA, which represents smaller and mid-sized cable operators, says that companies like Disney are charging for Web-based content and "requiring" broadcasters to include those fees as part of basic Internet access for all subscribers.

Internet2, ACUTA and EDUCAUSE have jointly submitted comments to the Federal Communications Commission on the development of a national broadband plan. These joint comments concentrate on five areas: 1) goals and benchmarks, 2) the middle mile and the last mile, 3) proposed solutions, 4) evaluation, and 5) other policy goals.

The legislated goal of the national broadband plan is to "ensure that all people of the United States have access to broadband capability." FirstMile.US has reframed the goal of the broadband plan as this: universal adoption and usage of broadband.

Cox has proposed that the Federal Communications Commission set a target of cutting the number of American homes unserved by broadband in half by 2012, and ensure that broadband is in every K-12 classroom by that same date.

The American Farm Bureau Federation sent comments last week to the Federal Communications Commission on the development of a national broadband plan. The AFBF says people who live and work in rural America are often unable to access the same educational, medical, business and government services as Americans living in more populated areas, and access to modern broadband Internet service has the potential to correct this inequity.

The National Exchange Carrier Association suggests that the Federal Communications Commission should set as the national broadband goal: Ubiquitous nationwide access to fixed and mobile broadband services, with fiber-to-the-home as the long-term standard for fixed networks.

In comments submitted to the Federal Communications Commission , the Center for Democracy and Technology stressed that a national broadband plan should include a commitment to maintain and indeed strengthen the legal and policy framework that has enabled the Internet to become such a dynamic and innovative medium.

Libraries can play a crucial role in developing the national broadband plan that will result from recent stimulus legislation, says the American Library Association (ALA) in comments before the Federal Communications Commission.

Wired magazine collected readers' input on the National Broadband Plan, allowing them to also vote on proposals. Editors then took the most popular and significant proposals and added them to the docket at the Federal Communications Commission.

On June 8th 2009, the Media and Democracy Coalition filed brief comments with the Federal Communications Commission on the National Broadband Plan. The comments summarize recommendations MDC members will make in a full report, to be released in July 2009.

Public Knowledge, Media Access Project, New America Foundation and US PIRG said the Federal Communications Commission needs to change how broadband is regulated, because the service is an 'essential utility' and not a luxury.

The Benton Foundation, The Center for Rural Strategies, The Rural Policy Research Institute, and the Telecommunications and Information Policy Institute at the University of Texas at Austin recommend modification of existing USF programs, guided by the principles set forth below, to provide funds for building and maintaining a national broadband system that provides meaningful access to all Americans, particularly rural populations where provision of broadband would otherwise prove too expensive and where residents otherwise have few opportunities to received the necessary equipment and training to provide meaningful broadband access.

Former Federal Communications Commission Chief of Staff Blair Levin is returning to the Commission to help coordinate its development of a national broadband plan. Levin was a technology adviser for President Obama during his presidential campaign and transition.

Saying it wants a national broadband plan that works, and likening it to the full-court press on the DTV transition, Comcast executive VP David Cohen says the company is advising the FCC to concentrate on getting service to areas with no access to wireless or wired Internet, as well as on encouraging broadband adoption in places where there is already service available.

Verizon submitted its suggestions for the national broadband plan called for by Congress and President Obama. The suggestions are contained in a detailed, 10-point proposal filed with the Federal Communications Commission.

Broadband deployment and adoption have been successful "by all reasonable measures," the National Cable & Telecommunications Association told the Federal Communications Commission in response to its request for comment on a national broadband plan.

Open, ubiquitous broadband connectivity holds the promise to catapult America to the next level of competitiveness, productivity, education, health, and security -- but how do we get there from here?

The Communications Workers of America filed comments on the development of a national broadband plan recommending: 1) A series of public hearings in communities across the country that will help provide guidance for the national plan from a broad group of citizens, businesses and communities; 2) Benchmarks that are ambitious, but achievable, with an initial goal of 10 megabits per second downstream and 1 megabit per second upstream.

The Center for Digital Democracy (CDD) and other privacy rights groups are asking the Federal Communications Commission to keep privacy rights top of mind as it writes a National Broadband Plan.

The Minority Media & Telecommunications Council (MMTC) has proposed a series of Federal Communications Commission broadband field hearings to help develop broadband policy and coordinate it with the National Telecommunications & Information Administration (NTIA) and Department of Agriculture.

On June 8, COAT sent recommendations to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) on the national broadband plan they must submit to the US Congress by February 17, 2010. COAT asked the FCC to ensure that the plan fosters access for people with disabilities to help eliminate the broadband divide facing our community.

The Benton Foundation filed comments in the Federal Communications Commission's proceeding on a National Broadband Plan. The Commission should begin at the end. To secure our economic future, ensure the public's safety, advance education and health care delivery, improve energy efficiency and to reinvigorate government and participatory democracy, the Commission should begin this endeavor to write a national broadband plan by envisioning a communications future that fulfills the promise of our historic commitment to universal, affordable wireline and wireless service.

Free Press filed comments with the Federal Communications Commission as part of the agency's "national broadband plan" to bring high-speed Internet to all Americans. Free Press recommendations: 1) Conduct a thorough review of the current state of the broadband market and the impact of past policies.

Media Access Project (MAP) called upon the Federal Communications Commission to give priority to First Amendment values as it establishes its plan for nationwide broadband development. MAP asked the Commission to "take an expansive view about the role of government to promote and enhance the marketplace of ideas through policies including, but not limited to, non-discrimination in network management and interconnection." MAP's comments to the commission noted longstanding Supreme Court precedent emphasizing that the government can and should consider diversity and free expression in its policymaking decisions.

On April 9, the Federal Communications Commission began the process of developing a national broadband plan that will seek to ensure that every American has access to broadband capability. The Commission must deliver the plan to Congress by Feb.