Many Comments Expected on FCC’s National Broadband Plan

“This is the biggest NOI I've ever seen,” said Jonathan Banks, USTelecom senior vice president. But it’s consistent with FCC acting Chairman Michael Copps’ belief in an open, all-inclusive process, he said. As written, the NOI invites participation from a lot of people “on the fringe” of the debate, which could elicit a lot of unfocused comments, he said. The notice probably will also resurrect many old arguments on a variety of subjects, he said.

The FCC will probably get “a lot of material” from commenters, said Curt Stamp, president of the Independent Telephone & Telecommunications Alliance. The challenge with broadband policy is that it involves many moving pieces, he said. Stamp expects ITTA to answer most of the questions, but prioritize a few in its opening summary.

The FCC will have to be “pretty nimble” to stay on schedule, said Brad Ramsay, general counsel of the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners. It’s not surprising that the document raises so many questions, because the FCC has historically used NOIs to spur fairly broad discussion, and then followed with more specific requests for information, Ramsay said. However, the tight timeframe will require a fast turnaround from the FCC, he said.

Although the final plan may address many of the topics raised in the NOI, it’s unlikely the document will make substantive policy changes, Ramsay said. Congress gave the FCC a year to design a plan, not execute it, he noted. He anticipates the plan will serve more as a “blueprint for action,” setting goals and priorities, he said.

Many Questions Raised

The FCC summarized the broadband plan NOI at its meeting Wednesday, but final text released late Wednesday provided more detail about how the commission is thinking about broadband definitions, open networks, universal service and other big issues.

“Broadband can be defined in myriad ways,” noted the FCC. It asked whether the definition should be “tethered to” a number like bandwidth and latency, or rather an “'experiential’ metric based on the consumer’s ability to access sufficiently robust data for certain identifiable broadband services.” The FCC asked if it should apply different definitions for different technologies as well as contexts, for example rural versus urban areas. The agency asked if the definition should adjust as technology changes, and if it should take into account the middle mile in addition to last-mile connections. And the FCC asked if it should unify definitions for three similar terms: “broadband,” “high-speed Internet” and “advanced telecommunications ability.”

The FCC also sought comment on how to define access to the broadband. For example, it asked whether to take into consideration affordability, competition and availability at community center, public Wi-Fi hotspots and other places. The agency asked whether access should consider adherence to the FCC’s Internet Policy Statement, and if the Internet principles “require elaboration or explanation … and whether the Commission should turn the principles into rules through a rulemaking.” The FCC might add a “fifth principle” on nondiscrimination. The agency asked whether such a principle is needed “in light of the current state of competition and the four existing Internet policy principles,” and how it would define the term.

The FCC looks to sink its teeth into the Universal Service Fund, analyzing the program’s effectiveness and efficiency. Teeing up a wealth of familiar questions on USF distribution, the FCC sought comment on potential “modifications” to USF and how to better target subsidies to broadband. The agency asked if it should make broadband a supported service under USF, and if it should create new broadband-specific programs. The FCC also addressed the impact of winning NTIA and RUS grants on a carrier’s USF subsidies. “Are there opportunities to leverage the stimulus program funds and universal service funds to maximize broadband deployment, and at the same time prevent ‘double dipping'?” the agency asked. Since grants will only cover construction, the FCC asked if broadband deployment will require “continued funding” for operations and maintenance.

The NOI also asks many questions about the role wireless will play and how to spur more wireless broadband. The FCC previously adopted in its Wireless Terrestrial Rural decision steps to “eliminate disincentives to serve or invest in rural areas, and to help reduce the costs of market entry, network deployment and continuing operations,” the NOI said.

Are more steps needed?, the NOI asks. “Should the Commission employ other mechanisms to encourage wireless broadband deployment in rural and tribal areas?” it asks. “For example, have bidding credits for carriers proposing to serve tribal lands been successful in encouraging deployment of wireless services, including broadband, to Indian Country?”

One of the major themes of last week’s CTIA convention was spectrum access. The NOI asks questions about this area of carrier concern. Will lack of spectrum “pose a constraint on broadband access and development?” the FCC asks. “We also seek suggestions for approaches toward spectrum allocation, assignment, management, and use that will best promote national access to broadband service.” The NOI also asks about the role of unlicensed services. “Should they be considered as a means of providing broadband service, particularly where no other service exists?” the commission asks. “If so, how should that service be defined or quantified since unlicensed devices are not necessarily associated with specific areas of operation?”

Paul Gallant of Washington Research Group said the notice is positive for Sprint Nextel, T-Mobile, Leap, and MetroPCS because it explores whether new licensed spectrum should be made available. “We suspect it will be more difficult for AT&T and Verizon to acquire new spectrum given their leading positions in the wireless market today,” he said. The NOI also explores the future of unlicensed spectrum, which Gallant sees as a “wild card” for carriers. “Unlicensed spectrum … could be used by incumbent carriers for free to upgrade their wireless broadband service, or it could be used by others to bypass incumbent carriers, similar to how Wi-Fi hotspots (which operate on unlicensed spectrum) are emerging as a shadow wireless network,” he said.

The commission plans to tackle many demand-side issues, too, including affordability, digital literacy and Internet privacy. “A full understanding of the value of broadband networks and the Internet may not be grasped by all Americans,” the FCC said. “Many Americans may lack the complement of computer or other skills necessary to fully participate in the digital broadband era.”

The FCC prescribed public-private cooperation to achieve ubiquitous broadband: “Coupling the dynamic innovations and flexibility of the private sector with the far-seeing policy goals of the public sector can help our nation achieve its broadband goals more efficiently and effectively than either could achieve alone.” The plan “must reflect the input of all stakeholders,” including consumers, large and small businesses, nonprofits, disabled communities and federal, state, local and tribal governments, the FCC said.

The FCC is mulling how to use the Web to enhance transparency and coordination. The FCC asked if there should be a single Web site that all government departments and agencies tasked with broadband stimulus could use to inform the public, and whether such a Web site should be incorporated into Grants.gov or another existing site. And it asked how the federal government can use the Web “to coordinate broadband rollout with tribal, state, and local governments,” among others.

The FCC is also required by Congress to develop a rural broadband plan, under the 2008 Farm Bill (CD March 27 p1). That plan is due May 22. In Wednesday’s NOI, the FCC asked “whether and how the Commission’s comprehensive rural broadband strategy should become a part of its development of a national broadband plan.”

NTIA, which will distribute $4.7 billion in broadband stimulus money, is in the process of creating rules for giving out the funds. NTIA spokesman Mark Tolbert said the agency won’t discuss possible policy differences between its rules and the NOI, only that it’s “working closely with the FCC and USDA to meet our goal and objective of making broadband work as fluidly and transparently as possible.” A spokesman for the Rural Utilities Service didn’t return a request for comment.