Obama Opening Door To Technology Innovators

[Commentary] Big businesses like Verizon and AT&T might be gnashing their teeth about the Obama Administration's policies and priorities, but small businesses and innovators should be rubbing their hands with glee. After almost nine months of anticipating presidential appointments and confirmations, the likes of new Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairman Julius Genachowski have finally gotten down to work, and while there haven't been any significant reforms yet, the still-new Administration is sending signals that changes are finally afoot. Health care reform may or may not get bogged down in Congress, but federal agencies are beginning to put an Obama stamp in several other critical areas, from the wireless market to broadband penetration. The most visible example thus far is the broadband stimulus package, which gives the National Technology and Information Administration (NTIA) a mandate to dole out billions in grants to companies and public-private partnerships proposing to bring broadband where none had existed before.