Broadband Study Panned
The latest comments to be filed on a study conducted for the FCC by Harvard University's Berkman Center for Internet and Society panned the study and urged the commission to give it little consideration. The comment period closed Monday for those wishing to provide input on the study by Berkman, which was charged with providing an expert review of existing literature and studies about broadband deployment policies pursued by other countries. The study is part of the FCC's efforts to craft a national broadband plan by early next year, as required by the economic stimulus plan. The Berkman study concluded that open-access policies, which require existing carriers to lease access to their broadband networks to competitors, have helped foster competition and innovation in broadband markets in other countries.
The National Cable and Telecommunications Association argued in its comments Monday that the commission should reject the Berkman report, saying it is biased in favor of the author's personal views. "A comprehensive, objective study of the existing literature regarding broadband deployment and adoption in other countries is something that could be valuable to the commission as it develops the National Broadband Plan requested by Congress," NCTA said. "Unfortunately, the report prepared by the Berkman Center is neither comprehensive nor objective."
In comments filed late last week, George S. Ford, the chief economist for the Phoenix Center think tank, said the economic analysis does not support the Berkman study's chief findings and is "embarrassingly bad." He added, that the study "claims that 'open access' stimulates broadband consumption, but the correct interpretation of its own evidence is that unbundling reduces broadband consumption."
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