More Action Needed on Broadband Adoption, Capitol Hill and FCC Aides Say

"We as a nation are not where we need to be,” said Rebekah Goodheart, aide to FCC Commissioner Mignon Clyburn, in a keynote before the panel. “Broadband is no longer a luxury.” She said Congress gave the FCC a duty to ensure broadband access for both rural and urban consumers. Goodheart touted several agency efforts, such as the November 2011 USF order and a proposed expansion of the E-rate program to back faster broadband in schools and libraries. “We are not just focused on connecting homes.” She mentioned the FCC’s rural healthcare program and said the Lifeline program “should be modernized,” with trials under way now on how Lifeline could integrate broadband adoption goals.

The National Urban League Washington Bureau recently released several principles intended to drive broadband adoption, investment and growth in urban parts of the U.S., as its white paper title said (http://bit.ly/1hSxu8w). Its recommendations include developing and promoting low-cost and entry-level broadband and data access plans, including broadband adoption backing in USF overhauls, tax credits for supporting adoption, and backing school and library broadband deployment to supplement home access. Every U.S. citizen should have access to broadband at home and a computer there, the white paper said. National Urban League Policy Institute Executive Director Chanelle Hardy said the principles are “common sense” and should be part of a “practical” conversation about the benefits of increasing broadband adoption. Four years after the National Broadband Plan, “many still have not adopted these services,” Hardy said.

"Expectations of connectivity in our society are very high and growing,” said John Horrigan, a telecom policy consultant who helped work on the National Broadband Plan. He would back another round of broadband stimulus funding, as the federal government first offered in its $4 billion Broadband Technology Opportunities Program (BTOP) grants. Institutions such as banks and government agencies increasingly expect people to have broadband at home, and those institutions must “see connectivity as truly the last mile” and take part in funding and resolving the final broadband adoption gaps that exist.

Rep. Bobby Rush, D-Ill., works closely with the FCC and NTIA on these concerns as a senior member of the House Commerce Committee, his legislative director Tim Robinson said. Not only is broadband adoption an issue but there’s the “deficit” in schools, with a need for more investment there, he said. There are expectations surrounding privacy and big data, Robinson said. “Those are the expectations of citizens, voters, consumers.” These broadband priorities should be a factor in the coming elections, Robinson said, reflecting on the way that National Broadband Plan focus became wrapped up in President Barack Obama’s presidential campaigning: “It’s very important that these priorities be firmly deposited in these platforms.”

The “tech info-boom” of recent years, in which several tech streams have converged, has proved a boon for jobs, especially in high-density urban areas, Progressive Policy Institute Chief Economic Strategist Michael Mandel said, previewing a white paper his institute plans to release in May. “Jobs are being created downtown.” The paper shows “real gains, real numbers” in African American and Hispanic population increases in terms of both tech jobs and the requisite degrees. “Don’t be confused by some of the statements that tech is elitist.”

FCC Chief Technology Officer Henning Schulzrinne attended and asked panelists how U.S. broadband adoption compared internationally. The U.S. is “in the middle of the pack,” though there’s no clear answer given the wealth levels the country possesses, Horrigan said. When considering the adoption growth rates in the last four years, “the most optimistic way I would put it is steady,” he added. Mandel argued that the U.S. and South Korea use far more data than countries in Europe. There’s a Progressive Policy Institute white paper on that topic coming out next week, Mandel said. Schulzrinne asked if video consumption drove the disparity, but Mandel said it’s a relevant difference even when just focusing on business consumption.

Panel moderator Hazeen Ashby, legislative director for the National Urban League Washington Bureau, urged caution when making international comparisons and emphasized the struggles specific U.S. populations have in broadband adoption. “If you make under $30,000 or are below the poverty line, then you have a problem.” Ashby urged a holistic approach to broadband policy. “You can’t just look to the federal investment,” she said, citing a need to bring together nonprofits and the private sector, too. Horrigan praised the potential role of public-private partnerships.

Multiple panelists mentioned earlier stimulus funding and private-sector initiatives such as Comcast’s Internet Essentials program. “We do have lots of lessons on how to get more people online,” Horrigan said. What’s really needed is broadband connectivity and educational capacity, Mandel said, noting the “fairly structured entry path” in terms of educational degrees for tech jobs. Telecom companies, unlike those from several other sectors, are looking to invest in the U.S., Mandel said. Public Knowledge Vice President-Government Affairs Chris Lewis asked about how much net neutrality concerns should be a part of this discussion and how the lack of such protections could impact minority- and women-owned businesses. Mandel sees the current policies as “hospitable” to small businesses, although regulators need to be alert to abuses, he said.

Congressional debate surrounds one big question, Robinson said -- “Would additional regulation stifle innovation in high-speed networks and successor networks?” Public investment “is not going to be the silver bullet,” Robinson said, calling attention to the battles of political will involved in getting such funding. “We're now in a political space where the watchword is fiscal conservatism going forward.” Robinson praised what he saw as very significant rounds of stimulus funding, mentioning both BTOP and Rural Utilities Service funding. Stakeholders are now in a position to “catalog” BTOP successes and “replicate” them, Robinson said. “We're learning and making course corrections,” Goodheart said of the FCC efforts. “We're not done.” (jhendel@warren-news.com)