Now Comes The Hard Part
The FCC's massive national broadband plan appears designed to please a wide array of constituencies, but maintaining the support of competing interests will be challenging when the political daggers come out during the implementation phase, experts said Monday. The technology blueprint, which will serve as a roadmap for extending affordable broadband service to all Americans over the next decade, makes dozens of recommendations to Congress and the commission, CongressDaily reported.
The 360-page document will be the focus of an FCC meeting Tuesday in advance of Wednesday's congressional deadline. "There is no way to make big decisions in this area without pissing somebody off," a telecommunications lobbyist said.
While the main telecommunications and cable industry associations and several watchdog groups were quick to express support, the specifics of how the plan is implemented, and the fate of separate proposals to toughen broadband regulation, threaten to unravel the delicate coalition. "The support for the plan is one thing. Support for each individual initiative is another," observed Paul Glenchur, senior communications analyst at the Potomac Research Group. He added that as legislative and rulemaking proposals emerge, "that's when the disputes will be aired."
House Energy and Commerce Communications Subcommittee Chairman Rick Boucher, D-Va., one of a few Democrats to immediately endorse the plan, will hold a March 25 oversight hearing featuring the testimony of all five agency regulators -- the first in a series of such congressional sessions. House Energy and Commerce Chairman Henry Waxman also weighed in with support.
Senate Commerce Chairman John (Jay) Rockefeller was noncommittal in his reaction, saying he looks forward to perusing the recommendations. "But above all, I look forward to the FCC moving ahead to make broadband a reality for everyone in this country, no matter who they are and no matter where they live," he said in a statement.
Within hours of the plan's release Monday, parties were grumbling about various provisions. In a statement, Rep. Cliff Stearns, R-Fla., the ranking Republican on Boucher's panel, complained "that the plan may contain stalking horses for investment-killing ideas, such as so-called net neutrality mandates or a return to outdated, monopoly-era regulation." To read more, click here. (Subscription required).
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