‘Ex ante,’ (prior) rules aren’t needed for net neutrality, FCC Co...

said. Everyone wants a free and open Internet and a free flow of content, but it’s unclear where the present effort to build a roadmap will end, she said. There’s agreement on the need for reasonable network management, and commissioners are looking at exempting “managed service,” she said. Chairman Julius Genachowski wants to extend net neutrality rules to wireless broadband as well, she said. Any rules will require increased transparency, she said, and many open questions remain. The FCC will work on net neutrality rules in the spring or early summer, after its broadband strategic plan goes to Congress in February, she said. The process of crafting a broadband plan is turning the commission into a new-age communications structure as it turns to blogs, tweets and other interactive media for feedback, Baker said. The exercise has already resulted in several insights, she said, including that the U.S. is already a broadband nation, where 92 percent of the population has access and 63 percent subscribe to services. More work is needed to boost broadband adoption, but it’s not clear what will entice more Americans to adopt, she said. The broadband plan is a beginning, not an end, she said. Another key issue is finding more spectrum for wireless, Baker said. The FCC’s suggested approach is to: (1) Set a new spectrum management framework that includes an inventory, identifying new bands and international coordination. (2) Leverage existing spectrum resources through a user-friendly database, improved secondary markets and spectrum and interference trading. (3) Encourage investment and promote innovation such as cognitive and software-defined radios and smart antennas. She predicted the proposed Comcast-NBC Universal deal won’t be the last, given the U.S.’s economic situation.