February 2010

NATIONAL BROADBAND PLAN

FCC FINDS 93 MILLION AMERICANS DISCONNECTED FROM BROADBAND
[SOURCE: Federal Communications Commission, AUTHOR: ]
The Federal Communications Commission released its National Broadband Plan Consumer Survey, Broadband Adoption and Use in America, which found that affordability and lack of digital skills are the main reasons why 93 million Americans -- one-third of the country -- are not connected to high-speed Internet at home. The FCC conducted a national random digit-dial survey of adults in October and November 2009 to assess America's attitudes toward broadband. The Consumer Survey found that 35 percent of adult Americans do not have high-speed Internet connections at home -- or approximately 80 million adults and 13 million children over the age of five. The survey identifies three main barriers to adoption:
Affordability: 36 percent of non-adopters, or 28 million adults, said they do not have home broadband because the monthly fee is too expensive (15 percent), they cannot afford a computer, the installation fee is too high (10 percent), or they do not want to enter into a long-term service contract (9 percent). According to survey respondents, their average monthly broadband bill is $41.
Digital Literacy: 22 percent of non-adopters, or 17 million adults, indicated that they do not have home broadband because they lack the digital skills (12 percent) or they are concerned about potential hazards of online life, such as exposure to inappropriate content or security of personal information (10 percent).
Relevance: 19 percent of non-adopters, or 15 million adults, said they do not have broadband because they say that the Internet is a waste of time, there is no online content of interest to them or, for dial-up users, they are content with their current service. The survey also found that non-adopters usually have more than one barrier that keeps them from having broadband service at home. Over half of non-adopters, when selecting from a menu of possible barriers to adoption, chose three or more. For example, more than half of non-adopters who cited cost also listed reasons relating to digital literacy or relevance. [more at the URL below]
benton.org/node/32428 | Federal Communications Commission | Broadband Adoption and Use in America | Read the survey | WSJ | B&C - reaction
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STUDY TOUTS BROADBAND PROVIDERS' INVESTMENTS
[SOURCE: CongressDaily, AUTHOR: Juliana Gruenwald]
Broadband for America -- a coalition which includes telecommunications providers such as AT&T, Comcast, Qwest, Time Warner Cable and Verizon -- released a new paper touting what it says are the economic benefits from the investments made by broadband providers and warns against imposing regulations that might hamper such efforts. "Given the massive investment that has been made to wire the U.S. economy with first-generation broadband access technologies, and given the significant investment now planned by carriers to upgrade that infrastructure to second-generation access technologies, policymakers must be careful to avoid new regulations that would make such investments unattractive," the study's authors, telecom economists Robert Crandall and Hal J. Singer, said in the paper. The paper says that investments in "first-generation" access technologies including cable modems, DSL and 3G wireless have generated 434,100 jobs between 2003 and 2009. "We estimate that the going-forward capital expenditures in next-generation access technologies would create approximately 509,000 jobs relative to a world without such investments so long as no new regulatory changes undermine the incentives of [broadband service providers] to continue to invest," the paper argued. The study represents the latest salvo from the nation's largest broadband providers, which include the major telecom and cable firms, to push back against calls for the FCC to impose new regulations to ensure open access to the Internet by all content providers and to help spur broadband access and use as part of the national broadband plan being crafted by the FCC.
benton.org/node/32427 | CongressDaily | Broadband for America | Press release
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FCC UNVEILS NATIONAL PRIORITIES RECOMMENDATIONS
[SOURCE: Federal Communications Commission, AUTHOR: ]
Working recommendations meant to bring the innovative force of broadband to healthcare, education, energy and the environment, government, public safety and homeland security, job training, and small business were unveiled February 18 at a meeting of the Federal Communications Commission. The team developing the National Broadband Plan highlighted elements under consideration in the "national purposes" section of the plan. The working recommendations are designed to support America's competitive advantages in key sectors of the economy and society. Key themes include using broadband to foster innovative approaches to intractable problems. Broadband can help the country achieve better results in important areas by facilitating the flow of information; removing barriers of time and space; and making data accessible for research, applications, and decision-making, all while protecting privacy.
benton.org/node/32426 | Federal Communications Commission | Read the report | Reaction
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WHY MOST OF US LACKS 100MBPS NET CONNECTIONS
[SOURCE: ars technica, AUTHOR: Matthew Lasar]
In 2002, TechNet said the government should commit to a goal of 100 Mbps to 100 million homes and small businesses by the end of the decade -- in other words, now. But in case you didn't notice, 100Mbps x 100 million didn't happen. About 75 to 77 million Americans currently access some kind of broadband, according to the latest data. That's only assuming, however, that you accept 200Kbps as a flavor of "high speed Internet." And a huge chunk of the population (over 30 percent) never go online at all -- less because they're retired and not interested; more often because they can't afford the prices. So why this shortfall of progress, especially compared to other countries? Some argue that everything is going fine. The US is just too spread out, that's all -- and we'll catch up in due time. Others contend that we just haven't spent enough government or private sector money on the problem. But the big thesis these days is that we missed the boat by curtailing wholesale network access to the big telcos and cable ISPs. By making it more expensive for smaller providers to link to AT&T, Verizon, Comcast, or Time Warner Cable in order to build out their own middle-mile systems, the government condemned most consumers to two ISP choices, at best.
benton.org/node/32464 | Ars Technica
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WHAT DOES 100 SQUARED MEAN?
[SOURCE: App-Rising.com, AUTHOR: Geoff Daily]
[Commentary] Recently, Federal Communications Commission Chairman Julius Genachowski unveiled his "100 Squared" initiative, which sets the goal of America having 100 million households connected to 100Mbps by 2020. But what does that goal really mean? Is that 100Mbps symmetrical, with as much capacity to upload as download? Is that 100Mbps advertised or do providers need to be able to actually deliver it? Is that a 100Mbps monopoly or a market where consumers have choice? The answers to these questions define the scope of this initiative's ambitions. They also frame the need for and appropriate structure of any government intervention to help move the market forward.
benton.org/node/32463 | App-Rising.com
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4 HOPES FOR THE NATIONAL BROADBAND PLAN
[SOURCE: PC World, AUTHOR: Jared Newman]
[Commentary] Here are four things Newman hopes the Federal Communications Commission includes in the National Broadband Plan:
100 Mbps: Affordable, Not Just Available: A key goal for the FCC is to bring 100-megabit-per-second broadband to 100 million homes by 2020, but the current market shows that the speed you get isn't necessarily the fastest possible. Many Internet service providers offer a few speed tiers, with cheaper plans for casual Web browsers and pricey turbo speeds for power users. This will have to change for 100 Mbps Internet to be adopted on a grand scale.
Don't Forget About Bandwidth: It's all well and good to connect new people to the Internet, but it's also important that existing users can still access the Internet without issue as Web video sucks up bandwidth. Separately, the FCC is creating net neutrality rules to ensure open access to the Internet, but solving bandwidth problems is also about making sure the infrastructure can handle things like Chatroulette.
Convince the Skeptics: Though 36 percent of Americans without broadband said cost is the main issue, 22 percent said they don't understand the technology and worry about security, and 19 percent think the Internet's a waste of time. So the biggest problem is not cost, but more general concerns about the Internet itself. The FCC has talked about health, education, and job benefits of broadband, but it'll have to figure out how to make the Internet seem exciting to those who aren't interested.
Wireless is Equally Important: By the time our slow-as-molasses government gets around to solving the wired broadband issue, it's possible that mobile broadband will have become more important and relevant. Telecoms are pronouncing the death of landlines, so wired Internet can't be far behind. Hopefully the FCC isn't approaching broadband with the intent of attacking wired and mobile Internet at the same time, instead of one after the other.
benton.org/node/32462 | PC World
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FCC: OPEN NETWORX TO STATE AND LOCAL GOVS
[SOURCE: nextgov, AUTHOR: Emily Long]
The General Services Administration should open its massive Networx telecommunications contract to state and local governments to encourage the expansion of broadband into rural and other underserved areas, a Federal Communications Commission panel said on Feb 18. The proposal, included in the initial recommendations for the national broadband plan, would allow other jurisdictions access to the lower process on telecommunications products and services that the federal government negotiated when awarding the Networx contracts, according to officials. "We believe it is a win-win for the country," said Eugene Huang, government operations director for the National Broadband Task Force. "For state and local governments, this would be an additional option for them to consider when they go out and negotiate for their own telecom services." GSA can open Networx to state and local governments only if Congress allows it. In 2003, the agency was allowed to offer its Schedule 70, off of which all information technology products and services are sold, to buyers outside the federal government.
benton.org/node/32461 | nextgov
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FREE PRESS WANTS ACCESS TO FCC BROADBAND DATA
[SOURCE: Free Press, AUTHOR: Ben Scott, Derek Turner, Aparna Sridhar, Chris Riley]
Free Press has written the Federal Communications Commission requesting the ability to review data collected by the FCC in connection with its periodic inquiry into the deployment of advanced telecommunications capability to all Americans. In particular, the organization is requesting that the public be granted the opportunity to examine and analyze the data collected by the FCC on Form 477, which gathers standardized information about subscribership to high-speed Internet access services. Our request is limited to the data reflecting subscribership as of December 31, 2008. Understanding that some of the companies that provided this information may believe their submissions are competitively sensitive, Free Press simultaneously requested a protective order and ask that the FCC institute appropriate procedures for the public to review the Form 477 data.
benton.org/node/32460 | Free Press
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AN INTERNATIONAL LOOK AT HIGH-SPEED BROADBAND
[SOURCE: Brookings, AUTHOR: Darrell West]
Similar to highways, bridges, and dams, broadband and wireless represent infrastructures that make it possible for businesses to stay connected, innovate, and create jobs. Just as we need a strong interstate highway system and viable mass transit, we require accessible and affordable broadband so that businesses and consumers can reap the benefits of broadband and wireless technology. In this report, West looks at what other countries are doing in terms of broadband applications. Specifically, he examines four policy questions: 1) what broadband speeds are countries aiming for in their national plans? 2) how are various nations paying for necessary broadband investments? 3) what new applications become available at various broadband speeds? and 4) how valuable do other locales see broadband for the economy, social connections, civic engagement, and public sector service delivery?
benton.org/node/32459 | Brookings | Read the report
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CISCO JOINS ULTRA-FAST BROADBAND RACE
[SOURCE: Financial Times, AUTHOR: Stephanie Kirchgaessner, Joseph Menn, Paul Taylor]
Cisco Systems is developing an ultra-high-speed system for Internet access in partnership with a number of US service providers, according to people close to the company. The move by the US telecommunications equipment maker comes just weeks after Google promised it would build an ultra-high-speed fibre-optic system . The Federal Communications Commission, the US media regulator, is preparing to unveil its national broadband strategy next month. Unlike Google, Cisco's move does not appear to conflict with existing broadband network operators. Some of Cisco's biggest customers, including AT&T and Comcast, the leading telecoms and cable companies, are expected to come under pressure to invest more in high-speed networks once the FCC unveils its plan.
benton.org/node/32475 | Financial Times
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UK BROADBAND
[SOURCE: Financial Times, AUTHOR:]
It doesn't sound like a compelling business case: spend billions on rolling out a product for which there is no obvious demand. But that is what the British government wants telecoms companies to do. It would like fibre-optic cables to lace the country, bringing everyone super-fast broadband of 50 to 100 megabits per second, compared with today's average 4Mbps. To subsidize the upgrade in rural areas, it plans a 50p per month tax on all telephone lines. The problem, as a skeptical parliamentary committee pointed out on Tuesday, is that hardly anyone needs broadband that fast. Even new applications such as Internet TV work fine on existing copper wires. In future that will almost certainly change but, questioning the project's urgency, the bipartisan committee opposed the tax and said the market should be left to its own devices for now. Ditto the Conservative opposition. Companies, meanwhile, are divided. At the heart of the problem is that there are two "digital divides". The first is between the UK and its neighbors: it comes 20th in the broadband speed league of developed countries, behind Portugal and Italy, which could one day hurt competitiveness. The second is within the UK: 11 per cent of users, many in rural areas, have been left behind with speeds of less than 2Mbps.
benton.org/node/32474 | Financial Times
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THE STIMULUS

10 BTOP GRANTS ANNOUNCED
[SOURCE: National Telecommunications and Information Administration]
On February 18, Commerce Secretary Gary Locke announced 10 American Recovery and Reinvestment Act investments to help bridge the technological divide, boost economic growth, create jobs and improve education and health care cross the country. The grants will increase broadband access and adoption in California, Florida, Indiana, Louisiana, New York, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and Wisconsin. The ten grants, totaling $357 million, will bring high-speed Internet access to millions of households and businesses, and link up thousands of schools, hospitals, libraries and public safety offices to the information superhighway. [more at the URL below]
benton.org/node/32420 | National Telecommunications and Information Administration
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BTOP GRANT TO EXPAND UTAH EDUCATION NETWORK
[SOURCE: National Telecommunications and Information Administration]
The Department of Commerce's National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) today announced a $13.4 million American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (Recovery Act) investment to help bridge the technological divide, boost economic growth, create jobs, and improve education across the state of Utah. The investment will allow the University of Utah to enhance and expand the Utah Education Network (UEN), which currently provides Internet service to more than 300 schools and other community anchor institutions. This project will extend fiber-based Ethernet broadband services to 130 additional elementary schools, public libraries, charter schools, and Head Start centers across the state, including a Head Start center that serves the Ute Indian Reservation. This project will significantly increase the speed and capacity of the Internet connections used at these locations by children, students, and teachers.
benton.org/node/32419 | National Telecommunications and Information Administration
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BTOP GRANT FOR ILLINOIS
[SOURCE: National Telecommunications and Information Administration]
The Department of Commerce's National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) announced an $11.9 million American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (Recovery Act) investment to help bridge the technological divide, boost economic growth, create jobs, and improve education and health care in DeKalb County and portions of LaSalle County, Illinois. Assistant Secretary for Communications and Information and NTIA Administrator Lawrence E. Strickling announced the $11.9 million broadband infrastructure grant for the DeKalb Advancement of Technology Authority Broadband project during an event today with Governor Pat Quinn and U.S. Rep. Bill Foster. This investment will enable the deployment of a 130-mile fiber network across DeKalb County and northern LaSalle County, providing high-speed Internet connections to at least 60 anchor institutions, such as schools, hospitals, libraries, public safety entities, and numerous government agencies. The project will also:
Provide network speeds between 10 Mbps to 10 Gbps, enabling connected anchor institutions and other local Internet service providers to extend service to underserved households and businesses in the area.
Connect local municipalities to one another and provide backbone infrastructure for emergency services and disaster recovery.
Connect to the Illinois Rural HealthNet, allowing medical facilities connected to this project to collaborate with specialists at larger facilities throughout the state and nation.
benton.org/node/32418 | National Telecommunications and Information Administration
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BROADBAND MAPPING IN NEW JERSEY
[SOURCE: National Telecommunications and Information Administration]
The Department of Commerce's National Telecommunications and Information Administration announced that it has awarded a grant to fund broadband mapping and planning activities in New Jersey under NTIA's State Broadband Data and Development Grant Program. NTIA has awarded the New Jersey Office of Information Technology approximately $1.5 million for broadband data collection and mapping activities over a two-year period and $500,000 for broadband planning activities over a five -year period in New Jersey, bringing the total grant award to approximately $2 million. The Office of Information Technology is the designated entity for the state of New Jersey.
Awardees will collect and verify the availability, speed, and location of broadband across the state. This activity is to be conducted on a semi-annual basis between 2009 and 2011, with the data to be presented in a clear and accessible format to the public, government, and the research community. The State Broadband Data and Development Grant Program is a matching grant program that implements the joint purposes of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act and the Broadband Data Improvement Act (BDIA). The program will provide grants to assist states or their designees in gathering and verifying state-specific data on the availability, speed, location, and technology type of broadband services. The data they collect and compile will also be used to develop publicly available state-wide broadband maps and to inform the comprehensive, interactive, and searchable national broadband map that NTIA is required by the Recovery Act to create and make publicly available by February 17, 2011.
benton.org/node/32417 | National Telecommunications and Information Administration
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AG ANNOUNCES 11 BIP AWARDS
[SOURCE: Department of Agriculture, AUTHOR: Press release]
Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced the selection of eleven broadband infrastructure projects to enable rural residents in nine states to have access to improved economic and educational opportunities. In all, over $277 million will be invested in the 11 projects through funding made available by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. An additional $1.6 million in private investment will be provided in matching funds. [more at URL below]
benton.org/node/32458 | Department of Agriculture | BroadbandBreakfast.com
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STIMULUS SEEKERS AND IDES OF MARCH
[SOURCE: Multichannel News, AUTHOR: Craig Settles]
[Commentary] If you're following developments with the broadband-stimulus program, you may have caught the latest bone of contention with the process that many of us have, particularly those working in the trenches actually trying to get proposals out the door: It's time. There's not nearly enough time between Feb. 16, when applications started to be accepted, and the March 15 final deadline for these applications. There are several reasons why this is causing major heartburn. One of the biggest is that you can't win a grant in this second round of funding if you propose to deliver service in an area that someone received money in Round 1 to build out. Logical, practical and fair. The problem, though, is that we won't see the last of Round 1 money going out until Feb. 28, giving people just two weeks to adjust to areas of conflict or jump into the game if they've waited for final results.
benton.org/node/32457 | Multichannel News | Fighting the Next Good Fight
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THE CHARGE OF THE BROADBAND STIMULUS BRIGADE
[SOURCE: 4GWirelessEvolution, AUTHOR: Craig Settles]
[Commentary] If we were to distill to a simple phrase the source of many of the challenges (translation: pain, grief and aggravation) endured by those going through the first round of broadband stimulus, it would be "What if we threw a party and everybody came?" Today, as we observe the pain, grief and aggravation of project teams attempting to pursue broadband funding in Round 2 of the stimulus program, the source of much of their misery calls up a different phrase, the poem "The Charge of the Light Brigade."
benton.org/node/32456 | 4GWirelessEvolution
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BROADBAND STIMULUS FOR SATELLITE SERVICES
[SOURCE: Space News, AUTHOR: Debra Werner]
A federal program set to begin this spring will set aside at least $100 million to bring satellite-based services to remote communities. "This is especially meaningful because the government is acknowledging that satellites are a key part of the solution to bringing broadband to everyone," said Dean Manson, senior vice president and general counsel for Hughes Network Systems. As part of the second phase of the broadband initiative, RUS announced plans Jan. 22 in the Federal Register for a program specifically targeted to satellites, a $100 million initiative to bring broadband to customers who lack access to any terrestrial broadband services. Applicants for that funding will be able to offer customers discounts of $750 on the satellite dishes and electronic components needed to receive satellite-based broadband in homes or small businesses. That $100 million budget also could be augmented with funding left over from other RUS broadband programs, the announcement said. RUS plans to issue a request for proposals with additional details on satellite broadband projects in April, May or June, said RUS spokesman Bart Kendrick.
benton.org/node/32455 | Space News
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IS THE STIMULUS FAILING?
[SOURCE: xchange, AUTHOR: Kelly Teal]
A Q&A with William Wallace of DigitalBridge, Mike Rhoda of Windstream, Tad Deriso of MBC and Steve Davis of Qwest. Questions include: How is the broadband stimulus doing at creating jobs? How will America fuse the disparate broadband stimulus projects into a cohesive national strategy that keeps up with enterprise and consumer demand, and service innovation? Will the focus on middle mile slow the benefits to consumers too long? Does the broadband stimulus hasten loop replacement or help get the most out of the copper already in the ground?
benton.org/node/32454 | xchange
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NAF BROADBAND STIMULUS RESOURCE LIBRARY
[SOURCE: New America Foundation, AUTHOR: ]
The New America Foundation's Open Technology Initiative (OTI) has expanded their publicly available broadband stimulus resource library, adding four application guides to assist those interested in applying for funding from the Rural Utilities Service's (RUS) Broadband Initiative Program (BIP) and the National Telecommunications and Information Administration's (NTIA) Broadband Technology Opportunities Program (BTOP). The guides provide a roadmap to understanding the application and requirements for each of the different funding opportunities under BIP and BTOP. The guides attempt to simplify the application process, outlining eligibility requirements, important definitions, and a document checklist for preparing the application. Additionally, each guide suggests what skills sets a team will require to complete different components of the application and a sample timeline on how long the process will take.
benton.org/node/32453 | New America Foundation
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KERRY FRUSTRATED BY PACE OF SMART GRIP
[SOURCE: CongressDaily, AUTHOR: Sara Jerome]
Senate Commerce Communications, Technology, and the Internet Subcommittee Chairman John Kerry (D-MA) expressed "frustration" Tuesday that the Obama administration has not moved fast enough to build out the country's electricity infrastructure. "I don't often express frustrations publicly about things on the administration, but this is one ... I don't get it. I don't understand ... why this wasn't issue almost number one," Chairman Kerry said during a subcommittee hearing. "[If] you want to get the economy moving, you've got to build out America's grid." Federal Chief Technology Officer Aneesh Chopra responded by saying the administration is committed to working with Congress on policies for connecting the country's regional electricity grids but acknowledged that the White House has not unveiled its own proposal on the issue. According to Chairman Kerry, efforts to unite these systems might be essential before the country can begin saving energy through widespread use of smart grid technology.
benton.org/node/32452 | CongressDaily
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OWNERSHIP

CRS REPORT PREDICTS COMCAST-NBC OK
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
A confidential report to Congress on Comcast's proposed deal for control of NBC Universal--issued in advance of the Feb. 2 hearings on the transaction--raises issues on both sides of the debate, but starts from the premise that the deal will go through. "There is consensus that the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) are likely to approve the combination subject to merger conditions and/or license conditions - intended to protect competition, diversity of voices, and localism - that may significantly affect the impact of the combination," wrote a telecommunications policy specialist with the Congressional Research Service, who declined to discuss the report citing its confidentiality. CRS reports are not made public by the agency, but are sometimes released by the members of Congress for whom they were prepared. In this case it was prepared for all members - there were hearings in both the House and Senate. According to a copy of the report, the document identifies the issues most likely to draw scrutiny from the FCC as program access, programming costs, the potential for favoring owned content over independent content, migrating NBC to a cable network, and, on the plus side, what possible new business models could be crafted to benefit consumers. As to the thought that NBC will become a cable network, the report suggests that is not likely to happen unless the marketplace changes significantly. It cites "the strong trend" of broadcasters getting cash for retransmission consent, as well as "the continued strong demand for local news and sports programming and the strong branding associated with local broadcast stations, as well as the criticism Comcast would face if it abandoned local programming and free, over-the-air programming."
benton.org/node/32416 | Broadcasting&Cable
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