Genachowski Presides Over First FCC Meeting as Chairman

New Federal Communications Commission Chairman Julius Genachowski presided over his first FCC meeting last week. Before presentations concerning the digital television transition and the FCC's federally-mandated national broadband plan, Commissioner Robert McDowell was sworn in to a new five-year term. The broadband plan, due to Congress by February 17, 2010, is the biggest task before the Commission. Chairman Genachowski said that the broadband plan was not about broadband but about making a difference in people's lives. The size of the task was driven home by Blair Levin, who is heading up the broadband plan effort. Levin laid out an ambitious timetable and delivery schedule. He said there would be some 20 staff workshops next month on various aspects of the plan including healthcare, e-government, education and job training. He also apologized for those used to taking August vacations but said it could not be helped. In addition to the plan, the FCC also has a regular report to Congress on broadband deployment that will be rolled into the effort, as well as broadband mapping requirements. Levin said the approach to the plan would be divided into four parts. First, assessing the current situation; second, identifying what could be done in the nearer term without a change in government policy (for example, he cited the cable industry's roll-out of Docsis 3.0); third, identifying where there are currently "demonstrable public interest harms"; fourth, identifying ways to lessen those public interest harms. He said that he didn't have the answers, but that a data-driven commission meant that they would not start with conclusions but with data, and that the data would not be accepted without being vetted.