FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski has spoken to a YouTube team about the National Broadband Plan and tried to respond to questions from Internet users across the country. The answers were, to put it politely, nuanced at best. Regular reader Brent Glass is in the video asking questions about WISPs.
Both Stacey and I are wading through the 400-odd pages of documents and will be offering our impressions after we’re done. Up until that point, you can watch this video. And if you need to learn more, check out these posts to get a better understanding of the National Broadband Plan.
* FCC’s Broadband Plan: The Role of Competition.
* Is Cheap Wireless Broadband for Real This Time?
* What You Need to Know About the National Broadband Plan
In addition, you can follow our coverage of FCC.
Om, I haven’t downloaded the document yet, so I’m wondering if you or Stacey have seen any acknowledgment of the need for milestones that track meaningful progress between now and the end objective.
Here’s an example of key a milestone: when will Americans have 10Mbps symmetrical broadband access available in all major metro areas across the U.S., at a competitive price (relative to the global market leaders)?
Again, when will consumers in the Top 10 cities in America (key economic centers) reach broadband parity with people in Paris, France or Seoul, South Korea?
David,
No, it is pitiful. Even though the law was clear asking the Plan to include benchmarks, the best this consultant-driven effort could come up with is the following buzzword laden recommendation:
RECOMMENDATION 17.3: The FCC should publish a Broadband Performance Dashboard with metrics designed to track broadband plan goals.
Heather,
So, if it’s not a “plan of action” for America at all, then it’s merely a very long “vision of the future” document. What a disappointment.
Now the question remains, will the U.S. Tech Sector leadership just let this event pass without comment, or will there be some indignation that the FCC has failed to live up to the agreed objective?