Mind the Gap

[Commentary] On Wednesday, the Federal Communications Commission's National Broadband Plan team will voice warnings about gaps -- gaps in broadband deployment, adoption and usage that are big enough for a consumer to fall through. Or, more broadly, gaps in universal access to robust broadband, the goal that Congress asked the plan to address. So we will be minding the gap. But we aren't getting on the train yet. Gap analysis is part two of what is essentially a three-part process. The first was gathering data. The second phase is gap analysis. The final phase is closing the gap - finding solutions to the broadband problems that keep individual households and the nation's economy as whole from enjoying the benefits of universal broadband. We will begin identifying a policy framework for solutions in December.