Congress Passes Broadband Bill to Survey Deployment
Congress passed a broadband mapping bill that asks the FCC to examine deployment data in greater detail, with the aim of encouraging carriers to enlarge service areas. The measure, passed late Tuesday, is the only major telecom bill to pass in the 110th Congress. Though never controversial, it had to undergo months of hearings and several drafts for lawmakers to agree on a final version. In the final stages Internet safety provisions were added. President Bush is expected to sign the measure soon.
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“There is no single entity or one-size-fits-all formula to get broadband to everyone,” said Peter Davidson, Verizon senior vice president of federal government relations. He praised the bill’s “roadmap,” which calls for public-private partnerships to encourage providers to move into areas where high-speed services are absent or in short supply. “Once we determine where the broadband gaps are, these groups can work together to fill them, and get everyone online,” he said.
Connected Nation hopes the next president will “embrace the spirit of the legislation,” said CEO Brian Mefford. “We're looking at a possible scenario where the Congress and incoming president both have set broadband as a national priority and have a similarly substantive plan for progress.” The non-profit plans statewide mapping projects modeled on its work in Kentucky, subject of several hearings on proposed mapping legislation. In a report, the group projected that a 7 percent rise in broadband adoption would create 2.4 million U.S. jobs, with an annual positive economic impact of $134 billion.
The bill first called for about $300 million in state grants to facilitate mapping, but that provision is gone from the final version, said lobbyists familiar with the bill. The bill now calls only for authority to make the grants, putting off the decision to spend money for a future appropriations bill. But, given Congressional concern over spending money, that excision cleared the last barriers impeding the bill, sources said. States still will have a major role in mapping, an outcome welcomed by the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissions, said Oregon Commissioner Ray Baum. The plan is for states to match federal data collection grants. TIA, US Telecom, AT&T and the Independent Telephone and Communications Alliance said they were pleased the bill passed.
The bill directs the Commerce Department to set up a grant program to measure broadband services by state, educate the public about technology and increase computer ownership and broadband use. Bidders would have to match up to 20 percent of the federal grant. Surveys must identify broadband speeds for individuals and businesses and create local technology planning teams that set goals for greater use of technology, especially in areas with no high-speed services or where penetration is “significantly” below the national average.
FCC Commissioner Deborah Tate plans to discuss the bill in a speech she’s giving at the International Telecommunication Union, according to a letter she sent Wednesday to Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Daniel Inouye, D-Hawaii. The bill “could become a model for other nations both regarding broadband mapping as well as child online protection,” her letter said.