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October 13, 2010
David Honig
Posted: October 13, 2010 07:21 PM
A Decisive Moment for Broadband InternetAccess
At what point does persistence turn into malfeasance? That is
the question we should beasking of the Federal Communications
Commission (FCC), an independent federal agency thathas spent much
of the last year considering various regulatory schemes for
broadband Internetaccess.
Proposed "network neutrality" rules put forward by the FCC to
govern broadband serviceproviders, along with an attempt to
reclassify broadband as akin, from a regulatory standpoint, tobasic
telephone service, has provoked an all-out lobbying war in D.C.,
one that has been playedout among service providers on one side and
high tech companies on the other. In nearly anyother circumstance,
this war of words and the brinksmanship it has engendered could be
cast asnothing more than business as usual inside the Beltway. But
at this point in the evolution ofbroadband, there is too much at
stake to dismiss these deliberations as the esotericmachinations of
D.C. operatives.
How we regulate and use broadband is essential not only to
spurring an economic revival inthis country, but also to empowering
individual users with the ability to participate in the global
marketplace of ideas. To these ends, the FCC spent much of last
year pulling together a NationalBroadband Plan to guide the
country's transition to a fully digital society. The FCC's Plan,
whichwas released in March of this year to much fanfare,
articulated an inspiring and bold vision forhow broadband should be
used to position the U.S. for continued prosperity.
Equally as important were the FCC's efforts to identify the many
barriers to more robustadoption and use of the technology by all
Americans, including African Americans, Hispanics,senior citizens,
and people with disabilities. With all of this information in hand,
the path forwardseemed clear. Unfortunately, the Commission, by
placing its highest priority on net neutralityrules and attempting
to reclassify broadband service, has taken the American people on a
costlydetour.
In recently filed FCC comments prepared by the Minority Media
and Telecommunications
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Council (MMTC), a group of 24 leading national civil rights and
policymaker organizations -including the Hispanic Technology and
Telecommunications Partnership, Japanese AmericanCitizens League,
League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC), NAACP, National
BlackCaucus of State Legislators, National Hispanic Caucus of State
Legislators, NationalOrganization of Black Elected Legislative
Women, and Organization of Chinese Americans -called upon the FCC
to refocus its limited resources on the most pressing issue at
hand:bolstering broadband access, adoption and informed use of
broadband services among under-adopting groups, particularly
minorities and women. These comments came in response to theFCC's
request for additional input on issues related to its broadband
reclassification proceeding(an initial request for comment was
released earlier in the year).
That the FCC asked for additional input signals uncertainty at
the Commission - uncertaintyover how to craft rules that attempt to
govern services that evolve dramatically almost daily. Intheir
comments, the National Organizations urge the FCC to weigh any
perceived benefit ofimplementing new rules for broadband against
the potential negative impact they might have onusers, particularly
minorities, women, and small disadvantaged businesses. The
commentsunderscore the likely harms that will result from adopting
rigid rules for a dynamic service likebroadband: investment in new
networks could slow, hundreds of thousands of jobs could be
lost,the innovative spirit that has driven the sector to date could
be dampened, and, most critically ofall, the digital divide
separating broadband adopters from non-adopters could expand to
ayawning chasm.
The likelihood that these ills could befall the broadband sector
is real. History teaches us thatburdening a dynamic sector like the
modern communications space with rigid rules that do notaccommodate
disruptive innovations is dangerous and not in the best interests
of the consumers.Rather than settling for a costly pyrrhic victory
on these issues, the Commission should heed thecall of the National
Organizations - and countless others - to defer any necessary
regulatory fixes
to Congress and instead focus on addressing the issues of most
immediate importance.
To spur broadband access, adoption and informed use, all that is
needed is a commitmentfrom the FCC to move forward with the
recommendations outlined in the National BroadbandPlan. In
addition, the FCC should divert some of the resources currently
consumed by the netneutrality and reclassification proceedings to
address - after years of delay - the array ofstagnating dockets
related to minority media and telecom ownership and
participation.
The National Organizations conclude their filing with a succinct
call to action for the FCC:"...the Commission [should] remain
mindful that any new rules or regulatory structures thatemerge...
should help to close the digital divide and spread the economic and
social benefits ofbroadband adoption to minority communities." This
is the issue that should be commanding theattention, money, and
energy of stakeholders across the sector: ensuring that as many
people aspossible are able to access, adopt and effectively use
broadband.
Without the FCC leading the way on this issue, progress will be
fragmented and millions of
Americans, including untold numbers of Blacks, Hispanics, women,
senior citizens, and peoplewith disabilities, will be in jeopardy
of being left on the analog side of the digital divide. Now isthe
time for the FCC to get back on track.
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