FCC Staffers Briefed on Broadband Plan

On January 29, the staff of the commissioners at the Federal Communications Commission got their first in what will be a series of briefings on the national broadband plan, due to Congress March 17. The commissioners can't be briefed collectively outside of a public meeting because of sunshine rules.

Apparently, the briefing focused on deployment and transparency, specifically looking at where wired broadband service is or isn't provided, including estimates on places where the population is so spread out that it is not financially viable for a private company and what it might cost to subsidize that service. On the transparency side, staffers talked about recommendations on consumer disclosure. A Feb 1 briefing is planned on set-top boxes and rights of way.