FCC Chair Gets Serious About Broadband Plan

Spurred by a congressional mandate and backed by some serious cash from the stimulus plan, newly named Federal Communications Commission Chairman Julius Genachowski has been evangelizing the need for broadband speed.

Genachowski needs to meet terms of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act that call for the FCC to submit a national broadband plan to Congress by Feb. 16, 2010, that "shall seek to ensure that all people of the United States have access to broadband capability and shall establish benchmarks for meeting that goal."

Also at stake is $7.2 billion in stimulus funds allocated to build high-speed networks -- if the FCC doesn't come up with a plan, broadband providers could eat up the fund without any oversight from the government.

Genachowski has acknowledged that government efforts have been lackadaisical regarding the need for high-speed Internet connectivity in the country, particularly in underserved rural areas, residential areas and classrooms, as well as the need to keep up with technology changes in sectors such as health care.

"Unfortunately, we as a nation have been lagging when it comes to broadband, falling behind too many countries," he said at a speech at an Erie, Pa., high school last month. "This is unacceptable. We must do better."

To spread the word, Genachowski Tuesday appointed several communication executives to his newly created Omnibus Broadband Initiative that is charged with developing the national broadband plan.

In addition, Genachowski has come up with a concept foreign to most government agencies: transparency. As part of Genachowski's plans, the FCC will hold a series of open workshops concerning broadband deployment and adoption and has invited the public to suggest meeting topics and questions. The meetings also will be broadcast over the Internet and archived online. The usual suspects will attend the meetings of course, such as stakeholders including service, equipment and applications providers. The workshops begin Thursday in Washington, D.C., and will take place through September.

In another fit of transparency under Genachowski's watch, the FCC has launched the beta site www.broadband.gov. It too provides ongoing information and courts input from the public. It also features an ominous countdown to the days left before the plan has to be delivered.

"Please get involved," Genachowski said on the site. "Tell us about the needs of your community and your hopes and aspirations for the national broadband plan. This is about those who we risk leaving behind if we don't pursue a national broadband strategy."