TECHNET SAYS U.S. SHOULD MAKE BROADBAND PROMOTION TOP PRIORITY

In not taking position on Tauzin-Dingell, White explained that TechNet was trying to “avoid those lower-level issues… our focus was to take a longer term view.” It was very long view, with group calling for 100 million U.S. homes to be receiving broadband of 100 Mbps by 2010. “Today, virtually no American homes have connections with such bandwidth,” TechNet said. Only 4.4% of U.S. households currently subscribe to broadband service, TechNet estimated, “typically at speeds of only 400 kbps or less.” To make leap it proposed in mere 8 years, TechNet outlined series of policy proposals that would discourage local communities from exercising broad discretion in enforcing rights-of-way, encourage private investment in broadband and remain technology-neutral. “We're calling on President Bush… and both houses of Congress to make broadband a national priority,” White said.

TechNet set interim goal of at least 50% of households passed by 2 or more broadband providers with at least 6 Mbps access, suitable for DVD-quality video. “That’s about as much as you can hope to coax out of existing technology,” White said. Current broadband uses “technology that is jury- rigged from old technology,” he said: “It doesn’t perform too well.” TechNet’s vision for 2010 involves new telecom facilities’ being constructed, both fiber and wireless. Excite@Home Chief Technology Officer Milo Medin, another TechNet broadband representative, said focus of federal and local policymakers should be on “real competition, facilities-based.”

Recurring theme in TechNet’s broadband group was restrictive nature of many local govts. in protecting rights- of-way. “A broadband network requires backhoes and trenching,” Doerr said: “There’s enormous frustration with the thicket of overlapping authorities.” He and other TechNet officials said focus of local govt. should not be to make money on initial use of right-of-way but from increase in tax revenue that would come from broadband’s stimulation of local economy. State regulation, report said, “too often… results in excessive fees, including exorbitant yearly per-foot charges, or fees based on a percentage of a provider’s gross income.” TechNet said: “Congress and state governments should enact legislation that limits the ability of local governments to impose conditions and excessive fees unrelated to the use of public rights of way.” Group plans to create National Broadband Index to chart how open communities across the U.S. are to broadband deployment.

Federal govt. should allocate 200 MHz of spectrum for wireless broadband from govt. to private-sector use, with proceeds from auctions going to fund costs of moving existing users, TechNet said. In addition, “a national spectrum policy should be established, relying on flexible, market- oriented spectrum allocation and usage.” TechNet also addressed so-called digital divide, saying tax credits and other incentives could help motivate private sector to serve 10-15% of American homes that are in underserved areas and wouldn’t otherwise be targeted by deployers.

Lack of “killer app” for broadband did not escape TechNet, as it acknowledged that take rate was low even in well-to-do areas passed by multiple providers. Doerr said Napster showed there was large demand for content online, but said in dealing with intellectual property “I think we've swung from one extreme to another.” TechNet called on industry to resolve dilemma of digital rights management, but didn’t call for govt. intervention.

Infrastructure creation envisioned by TechNet would cost billions of dollars, members acknowledged. But Doerr said venture funding would be there, despite collapse of so many competitive providers in last year. “The failure we've seen in telecom is one of overcapitalization and the construction of redundant backbone,” he said. Construction of last-mile approaches to home would certainly find funding, he predicted. Bottom line, for money to flow from private sector, regulatory landscape has to be clear, Doerr said: “Good government means regulatory certainty.”

Other advocacy groups and companies praised TechNet report and took opportunity to promote their own broadband solutions. ALTS Pres. John Windhausen praised TechNet’s acknowledgment of need for “new entrants” to “drive the deployment of broadband technologies.” Alliance for Public Technology Pres. Paul Schroeder said Sec. 706 explicitly called for advanced telecom services to be deployed in timely fashion and should be top priority of govt. Computing Technology Industry Assn. (CompTIA) Mgr.-Public Policy Thomas Santaniello echoed TechNet’s call for tax incentives for broadband in rural areas. AT&T Vp-Law Len Cali said the company shared TechNet’s technology-neutral focus and emphasis on rights-of-way, adding: “We strongly agree that an open, competitive marketplace would best address the concerns of price, content and deployment that TechNet identifies.” American ISP Assn. Pres. Sue Ashdown said ISPs were ready to compete in fair marketplace “and will work with Congress and the administration to ensure that high-speed Internet service is affordable, reliable and available to all Americans.”