January 2010

The Commerce Department's National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) and the USDA's Rural Utilities Service (RUS) today announced the launch of BroadbandMatch, a new online tool to facilitate partnerships among prospective applicants to the agencies' broadband grant and loan programs. The programs, funded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, are intended to expand broadband access and adoption in America, helping to bridge the digital divide, create jobs, and stimulate long-term economic growth. BroadbandMatch allows potential applicants to find partners for broadband projects, helping them to combine expertise and create stronger proposals. For example, a broadband infrastructure provider might partner with community institutions, like universities, hospitals, or libraries, on a proposal to bring high-speed Internet service to their facilities. Any company, nonprofit, state or local government or expert individual interested in applying for funding under NTIA's Broadband Technology Opportunities Program (BTOP) or RUS's Broadband Initiatives Program (BIP) can post a profile, including key information about the contribution they can make to a broadband project, as well as search for other stakeholders whose skills and resources match their needs.

Earlier this week the Department of Justice urged the Federal Communications Commission to reallocate as much spectrum as possible for the wireless industry. Wireless, the DOJ says, is the best chance we've got at creating a more competitive broadband landscape. "Given the potential of wireless services to reach underserved areas and to provide an alternative to wireline broadband providers in other areas, the Commission's primary tool for promoting broadband competition should be freeing up spectrum," the DOJ told the FCC on Monday.

But now comes a policy letter from the Department of Commerce's National Telecommunications & Information Administration (NTIA) suggesting that the wireless fix may not be so clear cut. "Although early projections from [the] industry are encouraging, it is premature to predict when, or even whether, these wireless broadband services will provide the competitive alternatives that can benefit consumers of all services, including wireline," NTIA chief Larry Strickling wrote to the FCC. It's not like Strickling disagrees with DOJ's assessment of the problem. The fact that some wireline customers seem willing to switch to wireless service suggests that the two offerings could become part of a broader marketplace," NTIA speculates. But the letter advises the FCC keep several factors in mind. First, a big chunk of the wireless industry is owned by AT&T and Verizon. Are they really going to market their wireless products as an alternative to their wireline offerings?

In America's complicated business landscape, Silicon Valley is not an island. The innovations that come from the famous tech hotspot have the potential to boost economies nationwide. This was the message Wednesday from Federal Communications Commission Chairman Julius Genachowski, who addressed a group of entrepreneurs and investors at the offices of tech-blog network Giga Omni Media in San Francisco.

The Obama administration's ambitious goal of rolling out coast-to-coast broadband is not merely a plan to help Silicon Valley by better connecting the country's tech geeks. Better connectivity will be the very lifeblood of American business for decades to come, Chairman Genachowski said. "A robust, open broadband platform, available and used by all Americans, will be our engine for innovation, economic growth and job creation in the 21st century," he said.

To the tech community, Genachowski is anything but a faceless government bureaucrat. He earned his stripes in the private sector, holding a top post at IAC/InterActiveCorp. and co-founding start-up incubator LaunchBox Digital and investment firm Rock Creek Ventures. Ubiquitous broadband in America will be a crucial step in meeting some of the president's top policy goals, the chairman said, including improving healthcare, education and public safety. It will also lead to a more transparent, efficient and responsive government, he said. But the broadband rollout is already up against a significant hurdle: the availability of wireless spectrum to power the quickly evolving computers and handheld phones hitting the market.

Online entertainment and video executives and developers at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas are talking about how their future rests largely with the Federal Communications Commission.

Tim Street is the CEO of Ape Digital, a Pasadena, Calif.-based company that produces online videos. He's been watching the FCC's moves to develop a net neutrality policy that he said is important to keep the Web open like it is today so that applications like his can thrive. "I've been following because I know where my bread is getting buttered," Street said. "I can see a scenario where the 200-plus lobbyists that are fighting against net neutrality can make it so that independent online video content creators won't be able to afford an entrance fee onto the Web." Street said he is concerned about trends in the cable and satellite industry to extend their current models onto the Web. He said he is concerned about TV Everywhere, a strategy by Comcast and other cable and satellite providers to bring online content to only their subscribers of Internet and cable service. "This is a closed system and it's unclear how new video can get on to this system," Street said.

Steve Harnesberger, vice president of business development for Jaman, said potential interest by carriers such as AT&T, Verizon and Comcast to charge by how much bandwidth a user consumes is bad for consumers and could slow demand for video, which consumes the most bandwidth. Harnesberger said the business motivation is for cable and telecom carriers to get extra revenue from bandwidth usage that they would be losing from consumers who cut the cord of cable television services for only broadband Internet.