Publish a timetable of proceedings to implement plan recommendations

On April 8, 2010, the Federal Communications Commission released its 2010 agenda for implementing key recommendations of the National Broadband Plan that involve rulemakings and other notice-and-comment proceedings.

The 2010 Broadband Action Agenda announced today explains the purpose and timing of more than 60 rulemakings and other notice-and-comment proceedings the Plan recommends for FCC action. Executing these steps will accelerate deployment and adoption of robust, affordable broadband for all Americans, helping 100 million U.S. homes get affordable access to actual download speeds of at least 100 megabits over the next decade; promote innovation, investment, competition, and consumer interests throughout the broadband ecosystem; and advance the use of broadband for key national priorities, including public safety, health care, and education.

The 2010 Broadband Action Agenda focuses on four key goals:

Promote World-Leading Mobile Broadband Infrastructure and Innovation

• Seek to make an additional 500 megahertz (MHz) of spectrum available for mobile broadband within the next ten years.
• Increase opportunities for unlicensed devices and innovative spectrum access models.
• Expand incentives and mechanisms to reallocate or repurpose spectrum to higher-valued uses.
• Improve the transparency of spectrum allocation and utilization.

Accelerate Universal Broadband Access and Adoption, and Advance National Purposes Such as Education and Health Care

• Carry out a once-in-a-generation transformation of the Universal Service Fund over the next ten years to support broadband service. This will be achieved by converting existing subsidy mechanisms over time from “POTS” (plain old telephone service) to broadband, without increasing the size of the fund over the current baseline projection.
• Upgrade the E-rate program, which has successfully connected public libraries and K-12 classrooms, to benefit students and others across the country by making broadband more accessible.
• Reform and upgrade the Rural Health Care Program to connect more public health facilities to high-speed Internet facilities and to foster telemedicine applications and services. Create a Health Care Infrastructure Fund to support deployment of dedicated health care networks to underserved areas.
• Create a Connect America Fund to extend broadband service to unserved areas of the nation and to ensure affordable broadband service in high-cost areas where support is necessary.
• Create a Mobility Fund to bring all states to a baseline level of “3G” (or better) wireless coverage.

Foster Competition and Maximize Consumer Benefits Across the Broadband Ecosystem

• Enhance broadband and marketplace choices for small businesses and mobile providers by establishing consistent policy frameworks for special access and wholesale wireline competition.
• Improve consumer disclosures and FCC data collection to better monitor and promote broadband competition.
• Fulfill mandate from Congress to ensure that video navigation devices, such as smart video devices, are available to consumers in the marketplace, spurring innovation in home video devices and driving increased broadband adoption and utilization.

Advance Robust and Secure Public Safety Communications Networks

• Facilitate the creation of a nationwide interoperable public safety wireless broadband network.
• Promote cybersecurity and protect critical communications infrastructure.
• Aid the transition to next-generation 911 and alerting systems.

For specific details, please see the 2010 Broadband Action Agenda at http://www.broadband.gov/plan/broadband-action-agenda.html and an implementation schedule at http://www.broadband.gov/plan/chart-of-key-broadband-action-agenda-items.pdf