Levin Says Broadband Plan Not Pre-Written
It’s not bad to be worried about the FCC’s national broadband plan, because that response probably will increase creative thinking as the commission develops its recommendations, plan coordinator Blair Levin said Wednesday at an event held by the Udwin Breakfast Group. “To a certain extent, I want you to be worried. I want everyone in this room to be worried. I'm worried.” The country’s broadband problems aren’t easy to solve, he said. “What should worry you is if we have a knee-jerk reaction.”
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Levin said he and Chairman Julius Genachowski didn’t have the broadband plan all worked out before holding workshops and collecting comment, as some have implied. “If I know what I want to do, why am I here … in August?” Levin said he isn’t sure what the final plan will look like, but hopes it will provide a strong “foundation” to build on. “If we do our job right, we shouldn’t have to do it [again] for another 10 years,” he said.
The FCC broadband team’s “aspiration” is to present “thorough, rigorous analysis of the state of broadband” at the FCC’s September meeting, Levin said. However, the team doesn’t plan to discuss “solutions” yet, he said.
The national plan won’t be “self-executing,” Levin said. “For any part of it to actually become operative, some other entity in government will have to act.” Levin expects the plan to include recommendations for many government bodies, including Congress, states and cities, he said. “Our job is to give good options to the people who make the decisions.” The national plan should launch a “dynamic process,” because setting a single-number goal is likely to be wrong, he said. “One size doesn’t fit all,” and serious analysis is needed to determine the best answers for different places and demographic groups, he said.
Levin highlighted points of agreement that he has seen in the proceeding. Most agree that there’s not enough spectrum available, but the FCC needs more details on where to get it and how to use it efficiently, he said. There’s also agreement that the government must help people find the “means to adopt” broadband, he said. “That’s going to cost money, but also bring in revenue.”
Wireless spectrum was the concern raised most in a questions round. Levin didn’t provide many direct answers, but promised he'd be able to say more after the FCC holds workshops on spectrum later this month.
Udwin Breakfast Group events are usually off the record, but Levin asked that this one be open to reporters. It was attended by senior executives of major U.S. telecom and other communications technology companies.