Now Comes The Hard Part

The National Broadband Plan appears designed to please a wide array of constituencies, but maintaining the support of competing interests will be challenging when the political daggers come out during the implementation phase.

"The support for the plan is one thing. Support for each individual initiative is another," observed Paul Glenchur, senior communications analyst at the Potomac Research Group. He added that as legislative and rulemaking proposals emerge, "that's when the disputes will be aired." House Communications Subcommittee Chairman Rick Boucher (D-VA) will hold a March 25 oversight hearing featuring the testimony of all five agency regulators -- the first in a series of such congressional sessions. Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Jay Rockefeller will hold an oversight hearing on March 23.