Issue Of The Week: Stimulus Strings Attached
Surf on over to CongressDaily's TechCentral for a new "Issue of the Week." Here's a taste:
Imagine trying to hand out cartons of cash to passersby on a busy street corner -- yet attracting no takers. That's the paradox the federal government faces as it crafts guidelines for $7.2 billion in incentives for telecommunications companies to extend high-speed Internet service to rural areas with limited or no access. The reason for the apprehension, particularly among dominant telecom and cable firms, is that the money comes with regulatory strings attached. One is a requirement that recipients adhere to the FCC's voluntary guidelines governing "network neutrality" -- the concept of maintaining an open and accessible Internet. Another is that network interconnection rights must be guaranteed to competing broadband providers.
Congress didn't define those terms in President Obama's economic stimulus package, punting instead to the two agencies tasked with distributing the funds -- the National Telecommunications and Information Administration within the Commerce Department, and the Rural Utilities Service within the Agriculture Department. NTIA, which will dole out $4.7 billion in grants and loans, and the RUS, set to distribute $2.5 billion, are hashing out the details now, with an announcement to come in the next month or two. Some of the corporate rhetoric might be brinksmanship aimed at spurring regulators to craft conditions with the lightest possible touch. But experts acknowledge there's a real possibility key players could sit the program out, or not participate as heavily as expected.
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