Spurring Broadband Deployment: Standards and Incentives

[Commentary] The national broadband plan could spur broadband deployment on an ongoing basis. It starts with the idea of establishing broadband standards. These standards will be the metrics by which we can determine if a community is fully served, if its users have access to enough bandwidth at an affordable enough price to do what they want/need to do. These standards will have to be multi-faceted so they can address the needs of different types of facilities and users. They will have to evolve over time to meet growing demands. And they will also have to factor in the status of competition in a community.