Will FCC and Congress Sabotage Obama State of the Union High Tech Goals?

[Commentary] Congressional opponents want to cripple the Federal Communications Commission’s ability to support broadband by using the dubious “government takeover of the Internet” meme. In doing so, members of Congress are only hurting those constituencies which could benefit from the FCC actively working to promote deployment of broadband.

No matter, though. The rhetorical points, even if demonstrably silly, will still gain traction with less informed legislators who care more about preventing non-existent takeovers than helping the economy. The “government takeover of the Internet” nonsense only helps the incumbent Internet Service Providers (ISPs) take control of the Internet, but few in Congress seem concerned about that. President Barack Obama was right on target when he pointed out: “Our infrastructure used to be the best, but our lead has slipped. South Korean homes now have greater Internet access than we do.” The incumbent protectors in Congress are doing a great job helping us slip further behind, but are doing nothing to help the US get ahead. According to the latest “State of the Internet” quarterly report from Akamai, the U.S. ranks 12th in broadband speeds, with South Korea leading the way. Of the top cities with highest broadband speeds, South Korea claimed 12 (including the top 11), Japan 8, and the best U.S. city was 57th. The picture isn't pretty, and it gets uglier when one realizes that the slippage comes when the broadband carriers are totally deregulated. There is no excuse for the regulatory structure holding them back. There are no regulatory incentives not to invest, thus proving the point that crimping the FCC, as the Congressional opponents want to do, has nothing to do with broadband performance. It’s all on the companies, large and small, to do as the will. Or won't. If the Obama Administration really wants to improve broadband competitiveness, it should take a more active role, rather than sit back and let the companies which have let us down drive the process to becoming competitive again.