A National Broadband Strategy

Today, The Federal Communications Commission ("FCC"), The National Telecommunications and Information Administration ("NTIA"), and the Rural Utilities Service ("RUS") held a joint meeting at the Department of Commerce ("DOC") to discuss how they will implement the new broadband grant programs. NTIA, RUS and the FCC are accepting comment from the public on these programs. Specifically, NTIA and RUS are seeking the public's opinion on the percentage of grant funds to be apportioned, the role of the states, eligible grant recipients, grant selection criteria, grant mechanics, broadband mapping, and other categories highlighted in their recently released notice which can be found at:

http://www.ntia.doc.gov/frnotices/2009/FR_BTOP_RFI_090312.pdf

Further public meetings will be held in Washington D.C. on March 16, 19, 23 and 24, 2009. Field hearings will also be held on March 17 and 18, 2009, and the agencies may hold additional meetings as needed.

The FCC is also seeking comment on the creation of a national broadband strategy. A plan for a national broadband strategy has been subject to industry buzz for several years now, with various groups in the telecom sector floating their proposals before the Commission and on Capitol Hill. The FCC is specifically seeking public feedback on Congress' directive in the Food, Conservation and Energy Act of 2008 (2008 Farm Bill) which became public law last June. What I have found most surprising in the push for a broadband plan is the focus on what has been termed the "rural broadband" issue. It is important that a national strategy operate in a way that will connect all underserved and unserved areas, whether rural or urban.

One important aspect of a national plan is an efficient and reliable broadband mapping system, so that we can see what specific areas lack affordable access or rank low on the penetration scale. I've given some thought as to how the private and public sectors can work together to make sure such an undertaking would be successful. Recently, I attended an event at the New America Foundation that announced the release of Google's new "Measurement Lab." Bill Maguire, a member of the audience (and Counsel for Technology Policy for the House Committe on Small Business) suggested tweaking the tool in a way that would allow it to track the location of those logging on, in order to help with creating a national broadband map. While this would raise some privacy concerns, I think the underlying idea is a step in the right direction, and there are some other groups attempting to collect information from the public such as BroadbandCensus.com. Perhaps we can even figure out how folks are using their broadband-- are they primarily students, businesses, et. cet. Getting the right data will be challenging, but hopefully, the Commission will receive some good public input on how to create a comprehensive broadband map.

For more information on BroadbandCensus.com, please visit:
http://broadbandcensus.com/

For more information on Google's Measurement Lab, please visit:
http://measurementlab.org/