FCC Releases National Broadband Plan
FCC Releases National Broadband Plan
March 16, 2010--The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has released “Connecting America: The National Broadband Plan” (NBP), a blueprint for expanding and upgrading broadband service throughout the United States. Among the things the FCC hopes to accomplish within 10 years:
• Affordable 100 megabit-per-second downstream service to at least 100 million homes;
• 1 Gigabit-per-second data feeds to schools, hospitals, and government buildings nationwide;
• Access to the fastest-available mobile broadband service for all Americans; a dedicated nationwide wireless public safety network; technical capability in every U.S. home for consumers to track their usage and manage their electric power consumption in real time.
The plan calls for the creation of a “Connect America Fund” (CAF) that would support the construction and maintenance of broadband networks that support service of at least 4 Mbps downstream in remote areas. The Commission would fund the CAF by gradually shifting money from the existing Universal Service Fund (USF) high-cost program up to $15.5 billion over 10 years. The Commission further proposes that Congress could speed the process by allocating additional funds to the CAF. The plan would eliminate the USF high-cost program after 10 years.
The NBP also proposes a “Mobility Fund” to support construction of mobile broadband service to 3G and later 4G levels. However, the plan does not offer much detail about which entities would contribute and how much money the program would gather.
In the electric energy realm, the NBP offers a full chapter of possible steps to promote smart grid-deployment and encourage energy efficiency. It recommends that states seek out and eliminate any disincentives for utilities to use existing commercial broadband providers for smart grid systems. The plan asks the North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC) to clarify its cyber security guidelines to fit commercial broadband use by utilities. The plan also calls on Congress to amend current law in order to allow public utilities to access the national public safety network in the 700 MHz band during storms, floods and other emergencies.
FCC Commissioner Robert McDowell reminded all that the NBP does not have the force of law. Its proposals will be the subject of Congressional legislation and regulatory proceedings within the FCC and other federal agencies for months and years to come. He warned that some of the proceedings will be controversial and that the government must ensure that its policies do not create disincentives to broadband network construction.
??? Author ???