October 2009

This speech was given to the American stakeholders interested in the United Nations Internet Governance Forum. It explores four major areas of uncertainty whose resolution will shape the future of the Internet. The first involves the kind of Internet we have ­ from the standpoint of the Internet's architecture and its adoption. The second involves what kind of information policies we have ­ that is, the kind of rules we develop about information property such as copyright, patents, and trademarks and the marketplace norms that apply to property. The third involves the kind of policies and norms we develop about our online identities ­ specifically, the policies and practices we construct about online privacy, anonymity, and surveillance. The fourth area of uncertainty is that we do not yet know the full impact of the Internet when it comes to economic, medical, social, and political outcomes. The social science community is just beginning to tackle issues related to the value of the Internet ­ both good and bad ­ in empirical terms.

A new study by the University of Oxford in England and the University of Oviedo in Spain measured broadband speed and latency in some 66 countries and 240 cities. The report claims top ranking countries saw "increasing investments in fiber and cable network upgrades, coupled with competition diversity, and supported by strong government vision and policy." Given many markets lack two or three of those, the country's ranking is once again not particularly surprising. Sure, the United States is larger than many of these other countries, and providing broadband to rural customers is an obvious challenge. But the United States also fails to break the top twenty best cities for broadband, five of which are in Japan. You'd think there'd be at least one U.S. city able to bump either Vilnius, Lithuania or Kocise, Sweden out of the top twenty. On the positive side, the United States has made some "significant, above average improvements" in infrastructure, according to the researchers. It's an obvious assumption that much of this improvement is courtesy of Verizon and Comcast's investment in fiber to the home and DOCSIS 3.0, respectively.

There has been much debate of late over sharing TV spectrum with laptops and other mobile wireless devices. Broadcasters have heard a lot of talk from companies such as Dell and Google about the fallow spectrum being protected in the TV band. But the national broadband plan, due to Congress on Feb. 17, 2010, has created numerous new opportunities for those companies and other parties -- including the Federal Communications Commission and Congress -- to take aim at broadcast spectrum and to raise questions about how efficiently it is being used. One of the latest red flags involving the issue came two weeks ago, with the commission's decision to seek specific comment, as part of the broadband plan, on how spectrum could be put to better use, including whether efficient use of spectrum should be part of the FCC's public-interest test for spectrum holders. Then there was the request last week by CTIA-The Wireless Association (which includes AT&T, Verizon and Sprint/Nextel) that the FCC needed to find and reallocate another 800 MHz of spectrum given the coming demands of wireless broadband. Those demands have been a constant drumbeat at the FCC as it works feverishly on the February plan. Wireless broadband needs more spectrum to produce the higher speeds the FCC suggests will be required to deliver applications.

Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairman Julius Genachowski announced key senior staff at the agency, including: Wireline Competition Bureau Deputy Chiefs Catherine Seidel and John Branscome, Wireless Telecommunications Bureau Deputy Chief Monica Shah Desai, and Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau Deputy Chief Mark Stone.

1) Seidel has been at the FCC for more than 15 years. Most recently, Ms. Seidel served as Chief of the Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau, a position she held since January 2007. Previously, she was the Acting Chief of the Wireless Telecommunications Bureau (WTB), and also has served as a Deputy Bureau Chief and Chief of Staff for the WTB.

2) Branscome has been at the FCC for nine years. He most recently served as Chief of the Spectrum and Competition Policy Division, and for the past year, Mr. Branscome was detailed to U.S. Senator Amy J. Klobuchar as counsel for communications and intellectual property matters. He also has served as acting legal advisor both to Commissioner Michael J. Copps and to former Commissioner Kathleen Q. Abernathy.

3) Desai has worked at the FCC since 1999 in a variety of capacities. She previously served as Chief of the Media Bureau from January 2007 until June 2009, and as Chief of the Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau from April 2005 until January 2007. She most recently served as a special advisor to the General Counsel, and previously served as a legal advisor to then Commissioner Martin on spectrum and international issues.

4) Stone has held a variety of positions at the Commission since 1994. He recently served as Deputy Managing Director. Prior to that, he advised former Commissioner Jonathan Adelstein on wireline telephone matters and was an adviser to former Chairman Kevin Martin. Mr. Stone has also served as Deputy Chief of the Telecommunications Consumers Division of the Enforcement Bureau where he supervised investigations and actions to enforce the Commission's rules that protect people with disabilities and low income telephone subscribers.