FCC’s Levin Seeks Better Focus in Broadband Plan Ideas

Levin said reading 8,000-plus pages of comments has made him “much less optimistic” about writing a good plan. While there’s agreement that the plan is a major opportunity, there’s “very little” in comments that “moves the ball forward,” he said. For example, there’s consensus that more spectrum needs to be made available, but “little said about how to make it so,” he said. And while many comments advocate for improving adoption levels, few acknowledge that the FCC will need to make choices on how to spend and allocate the limited funds available, he said.

Setting lofty broadband goals won’t guarantee they'll be accomplished, Levin said. Commenters should focus on the how, and provide data showing what kind of spending will result in the most “public policy return on investment,” he said. A “get-mine-first” mindset -- common among lobbyists - - “may turn out to be inconsistent” with the country’s long- term social interest, he said.

The FCC is trying to make the broadband proceeding as open and transparent as possible, and plans to use workshops and hearings to that end, Levin said. However, “if all we have is a great process, we will fail.”

The Obama administration believes engaging a wide and diverse array of voices is key to effective broadband policy in the U.S., said Susan Crawford, special assistant to President Barack Obama on science, technology and innovation policy. Obama is “deeply interested” in accomplishing ubiquitous broadband, and wants to enhance the involvement of minority stakeholders in the process, ensuring that minority communities are fully aware of broadband stimulus opportunities, she said. The FCC under Chairman Julius Genachowski is doing its best to engage people outside of the “K Street orbit,” Crawford said. The Obama administration strives to make the policy process as “empowering” for people as broadband technology itself, she said.

Engaging all Americans must be a critical component of U.S. broadband strategy, said One Economy CEO Rey Ramsey in a keynote. The newly established Broadband Opportunity Coalition, which includes several minority associations, will advocate for policy ensuring broadband adoption by minorities across the country, he said. U.S. broadband policy must include significant outreach and education to ensure not only that minorities aren’t left behind, but that they “truly embrace” the technology, he said.

The “paradox” of 21st century technology is that while it has potential to bring people together, it can also widen the divide between haves and have nots, Ramsey said. Policymakers should not decouple demand from supply when thinking about broadband, he said. Improved speeds and universal coverage are “just the beginning,” he said.

Broadband technology should be viewed by everyone as a “tool of empowerment,” agreed National Urban League President Marc Morial. The U.S. won’t improve adoption statistics until that notion “becomes part of young people’s DNA,” he said.

USTelecom President Walter McCormick agreed adoption should be an emphasis of broadband policy, saying it will be important to focus on programs that stimulate demand for broadband among people who don’t use it now. Meanwhile, CTIA President Steve Largent said regulators need to “get started right away” on efforts to make more spectrum available, to ensure robust broadband. Largent said the spectrum audit legislation before Congress is a good first step. The fact that the government needs the funds from an auction is something “we have going for us.”