Levin hints at Broadband Plan

[David Farber <dave () farber net>]

Begin forwarded message:

From: Richard Bennett <richard () bennett com>
Date: December 24, 2009 9:15:21 PM EST
To: Dave Farber <dave () farber net>
Subject: Levin hints at Broadband Plan

For IP, if you wish.

Blair Levin pre-announces some details of the National Broadband Plan on The Communicators this weekend. Amy Schatz of 
the WSJ did some of the questioning, and reports: 
Providing universal broadband access at 3 mbps would cost about $20 billion, the FCC estimates. The price tag for 50 
mbps service across the U.S. would cost more than $50 billion.

Much of that investment would have to come from the private sector, Mr. Levin says, although the agency is considering 
changes to a $7 billion annual federal phone subsidy program to fund new Internet lines in rural areas.

Mr. Levin also dismissed criticisms last week from public interest groups unhappy the plan may not propose some ideas 
for encouraging competition, such as rules that would require Internet providers to share their lines with competitors.

“I find their criticism not very productive,” Mr. Levin said Monday.

FCC officials have been considering the ideas, some of which were laid out in a FCC-commissioned report by Harvard 
University’s Berkman Center for Internet & Society.

The WSJ piece is at: 

http://blogs.wsj.com/digits/2009/12/21/fcc-eyes-average-internet-speeds-for-rural-areas/

and you can see the video at C-Span's web site: 

http://www.c-span.org/Watch/Media/2009/12/21/HP/R/27505/FCC+Gives+Status+on+Natl+Broadband+Plan.aspx

RB
-- 
Richard Bennett
Research Fellow
Information Technology and Innovation Foundation
Washington, DC




-------------------------------------------
Archives: https://www.listbox.com/member/archive/247/=now
RSS Feed: https://www.listbox.com/member/archive/rss/247/
Powered by Listbox: http://www.listbox.com