FCC chairman: Regulations are 'slowing down broadband deployment'

Government regulations are obstructing the spread of broadband lines across the country, said Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairman Julius Genachowski. One obstacle to broadband buildout is local and state regulations, which he said are "slowing down deployment." Chairman Genachowski cited some rules dealing with pole attachments and tower siting, which require phone companies to seek a regulatory OK before they can deploy equipment. The FCC's heightened effort to slash red tape syncs with President Obama's calls to get rid of unneeded regulations, according to Chairman Genachowski. He said the FCC must "ask really hard questions about the benefits and burdens of [its] rules." He pointed to the FCC effort to reform its data collection policies, noting the agency has identified 20 separate data collection requirements that should be removed.