FCC members call for national broadband policy
561945
(InfoWorld) - Two members of the U.S. Federal Communications Commission called for the federal government to create a wide-ranging national broadband strategy to help small businesses compete on a global level. Too many U.S. small businesses have no access to broadband, and many others can't afford it, said Michael Copps and Jonathan Adelstein, Democratic members of the FCC. The cost of consumer-level broadband per megabit in the United States is about seven times the cost in Japan, Adelstein told the U.S. Senate Small Business and Entrepreneurship Committee. Small businesses "typically pay too much for a service that is too slow," Copps said. "It's not just a matter of national pride we're talking about -- it's a business issue." A survey in 2005 found that small businesses paid an average of $720 per month for a T1 line, added Ben Scott, policy director of Free Press, a media reform advocacy group. In Chicago, customers pay $80 to $90 a month for 1MbpsÂ of broadband, but in smaller Urbana, Ill., the cost is about $300, Scott said. In Greenup, Ill., a city with about 1,500 residents south of Chicago, the monthly cost of a 1Mbps connection is $1,300, Scott said. Small businesses in small towns and rural areas lack the same technological edge that many overseas competitors have, Scott said. "The head start we're giving our global competition is taking it just a bit too far," he said. Senators John Kerry, a Massachusetts Democrat, and Olympia Snowe, a Maine Republican, complained that President George Bush set a policy goal in 2004 for all U.S. residents to have broadband available by this year, but didn't back it up with policies. "We had the goal but not the tactics," Snowe said. A national broadband policy should include better data about where broadband service is lacking, said the FCC's Adelstein. The FCC still says a postal zip code has broadband if one customer there does, he said. Congress should provide more money for broadband build-out in rural areas, and the Republican majority at the FCC should stop a deregulatory approach that has led to few broadband competitors, he said. Adelstein also called for a national summit on broadband that would bring together customers, providers, members of Congress and the Bush administration, and others to address broadband availability. "We should make broadband the dial tone of the 21st century," he said. Not everyone at the hearing complained about the state of broadband in the United States. There's little evidence of a broadband problem in the United States, said Scott Wallsten, director of communications policy studies at the Progress and Freedom Foundation, a conservative think tank. "Telephone, cable, and wireless companies are investing billions in new high-speed infrastructure, and consumers and businesses are adopting broadband at remarkable rates," Wallsten said. Verizon CommunicationsÂ alone is planning to spend $23 billion on its fiber-optic network by 2010, he said. People calling for government solutions "fail to provide solid analysis showing that their proposals would actually benefit consumers or small businesses," Wallsten added. Sen. Bob Corker, a Tennessee Republican, laid the problems back at the feet of Copps and Adelstein. The FCC has the power to encourage more broadband competition through anÂ upcoming auction of radio spectrum, he said. Several companies want to provide nationwide wireless broadband if the January auction is set up right, he said. "It seems like to me you have the tools at the FCC," he said.
160635
Proposed law could prevent the government from offering broadband access.
189298
Meaning everyone in America Appearing via satellite at the annual NXTcomm conference in Chicago, U.S. Federal Communications Commission Chairman Kevin Martin urged telecom leaders to provide the entire country with broadband access.â¦
134409
A consortium of consumer groups is planning to urge federal regulators to clarify how much control cellphone companies can have over the messages and services delivered over their networks.
679457
When it comes to net neutrality, telecom and Internet companies may be asking for it.
314299
Blog: The same pair of politicos who pushed last year for strict nondiscrimination requirements for broadband operators are looking to federal regulators to help revive their cause.
411458
US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairman Michael Powell is calling for a hands-off regulatory approach to Voice over IP (VoIP) and has vowed to try to take regulatory control
544297
Hundreds of groups and individual Internet users sounded off to the U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC)Â on net neutrality in comments filed Monday, the deadline for responding to the agency's inquiry into the proposed regulation.
527387
Blog: Pair of politicos who pushed last year for strict nondiscrimination requirements for broadband operators are looking to federal regulators to help revive their cause.
265708
A progressive Washington think tank Tuesday blasted the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and the Bush administration for failing to invest in and develop a robust broadband network in the U.S. that can support consumers as well as first responders and anti-terrorist teams.&quot;The policy of relying on market forces that the Bush administration claimed for seven years would propel broad access is irresponsible and insufficient,&quot; Mark Lloyd, senior fellow at the Center for American Progress (CAP), said in a statement on the CAP&#39;s Web site.&quot;The result of administration neglect, industry intransigence and the incompetence of the Federal Communications Commission ... has left the American people and most policymakers with no clear idea where broad services are deployed in the U.S.,&quot; said Lloyd, who is also an affiliated professor at Georgetown University&#39;s Public Policy Institute.Although it&#39;s a nonpartisan organization, the CAP is headed by John Podesta, who served as chief of staff to Bill Clinton when he was president. P.J. Crowley, CAP&#39;s director of homeland security, served as Clinton&#39;s special assistant for national security and joined Lloyd in a call with reporters Tuesday.Lloyd and Crowley urged policymakers, including the presidential candidates, to find government funds to support the building of a 10Gbps, redundant and ubiquitous broadband network. They also urged current leaders to create a commission to implement that goal.&quot;We should not wait for another Katrina or 9/11 for this to happen,&quot; Lloyd said. The CAP said the broadband network could be wired and wireless. The organization also said the network must provide enough components so that if one system fails, another is available and the network can quickly repair itself.The FCC has created an elaborate system to&#160;auction off 700MHz wireless spectrum&#160;starting Thursday, including a special D Block that would be shared by first responders and commercial users.But even the plans to use that portion of the spectrum for public safety imperiled, since the sole known bidder, Frontline Wireless LLC, failed to submit a $128 million down payment to the FCC to qualify to bid. On Jan. 12, the company issued a short statement saying: &quot;Frontline Wireless is closed for business at this time. We have no further comment.&quot;&quot;The bidding on the D Block is a perfect example of the challenge the FCC faces,&quot; said Lloyd, who urged Verizon Wireless or Google Inc. to consider bidding on the D Block. &quot;We need somebody to step up to the plate and if not, the feds must. We cannot rely on market forces alone.&quot;Lloyd said all branches of government need to work with service providers in a &quot;necessary and forced partnership&quot; to bring about a broadband network.Computerworld is an InfoWorld affiliate.
95966
Proponents of Net neutrality laws call for a hearing on the issue, arguing reports of peer-to-peer traffic interference support need for rules banning that practice.
674193
InfoWorld - Two public-interest groups praised the U.S. Federal Communications Commission for opening three inquiries into network traffic management practices by broadband providers and mobile phone carriers.
310079
Federal regulators approved new rules Thursday aimed at making high-speed Internet available to more Americans &#151; but critics complained the move will hinder competition in broadband services and keep prices high.
526328
The US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) on Wednesday kicked off efforts that could reshape the communications services available to airline passengers.
712154
WASHINGTON -- The Federal Communications Commission this week hopes to do what Congress could not accomplish this year -- help AT&amp;T Inc. and Verizon Communications get into the television business faster.
677809
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has asked the Supreme Court to hear an appeal that could determine whether cable broadband providers can be forced to open their networks to other Internet providers.
729224
InfoWorld - Plans for valuable wireless spectrum being considered by the U.S. Federal Communications Commission may not go far enough to encourage a new broadband competitor, said groups calling for open-access rules for part of the spectrum.