Memo to Washington: It's the broadband, stupid

[Commentary] As lawmakers gear up for the post-election Congress that convenes in January, the multiyear debate over new laws to keep ISPs from blocking Web sites or managing traffic in anticompetitive ways -- the so-called network neutrality rules -- is heating up again. The result can be safely predicted: more wasted energy and a continued failure by policymakers to focus on the real challenges of our increasingly important broadband infrastructure. The reality is that, as TV, telephony, and the Web continue to converge at breakneck speed, Net neutrality is little more than a sideshow in a complex circus of communications regulation. Now that the election is over, every stakeholder in Washington would do well to focus on the bigger problems--those that could stall progress in one of the few bright spots in the economy. First and foremost: stimulating broadband adoption.