The Good News and the Bad News In The Stimulus News

[Commentary] The rules of the road for the $7.2 billion broadband stimulus package hit a lot of high notes, putting public policy in favor of an open and non-discriminatory Internet front and center for projects that would bring the Internet to unserved and underserved areas. The mapping portion is more of a disappointment. On the bright side, the plan for the broadband map calls for a lot more detail than has been reported previously, if the confidentiality portions of the program don't ruin it. On the other side, the special-interest legislation that started the whole mapping craze has fulfilled its ultimate purpose. Sen Dick Durbin's (D-IL) legislation wasn't called the "Connect the Nation Act" for nothing. This was the bill that mandated that only non-profits could receive mapping grants - because Connected Nation, a group that exists to protect information submitted by telephone and cable companies, is a non-profit and wrote the bill. And it's wired deeply into many states. Our cautionary tale goes into it in more detail of how Durbin's bill became the gift that kept on giving. The challenge for the government now will be to rescue the data plan from the clutches of the people who want to game the system.