Green: Broadband Plan Could Learn From Cable Labs Collaborative Model

Former Cable Labs chief Dick Green wants the government to promote the kind of collaborative research that resulted in the DOCSIS standard for cable high-speed modem data delivery and to find ways to incentivize research through government contracting. Speaking at an Federal Communications Commission broadband workshop on spurring research, Green pointed to the National Cooperative Research Act of 1984, which allowed Cable Labs to form by removing antitrust problems with joint research. Green also took the opportunity to put in a plug for that standard, pointing out that by 2010 it will have the capability of delivering more than 300 megabits per second. He said the government, as part of the national broadband plan, should encourage more such collaborations, which increases the number of joint projects and boosts competitiveness of the U.S. in research. It has numerous benefits, he said, including reducing costs, eliminating duplicative efforts, and encouraging synergies.