The FCC released its national broadband plan today. Needless to say, interesting times are ahead of us. The plan outlines a variety of objectives and could have serious implications on the marketplace. The plan will be delivered to Congress on March 17th and then it’s expected that the FCC will begin a long series of rulemaking proceedings to begin to implement elements of this plan.
Without a doubt, there will be some very contentious fights on some very important issues, including:
- USF and broadband – the FCC is calling for the establishment of the Connect America fund, which will transition USF from supporting universal voice access to universal broadband access. In addition the FCC is calling for an additional $9 billion in funding (outside of USF) to help bring broadband to rural areas, although there is no discussion of how this initiative actually gets funded. The FCC suggests the goal of Connect America should be to get a minimum 4 Mbps connection to every home.
- Intercarrier Compensation reform – a part of the plan calls for tackling the controversial issue of access reform. Obviously this reform will have huge implications for tier 2 and 3 carriers
- Wireless spectrum – the plan calls for the allocation of an additional 500 Mhz in spectrum, much of it coming from the television broadcast industry. This spectrum will be auctioned off and early indications suggest there will be a fight between the FCC, the broadcast industry, and the wireless industry.
- Middle mile connectivity – the plan calls for bringing at least 1 Gps capacity to every community in America
- Broadband penetration – increasing broadband penetration throughout the whole country to at least 90%
We at Pivot Media intend to be a reliable resource on these important issues. Whether offering insight and analysis through Telecompetitor or helping clients understand and act upon the opportunities this broadband plan creates, we’ll be here. Stay tuned.
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