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Sen. Kerry Wants New Broadband Policy

U.S. falls further behind global competitors, he argues

By Martin H. Bosworth
ConsumerAffairs.com

September 27, 2007 

Too many sections of the country have no broadband at all and in others, the price is prohibitive for working families and small businesses, Sen. John Kerry (D-MA) said, as the Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship opened hearings on the issue yesterday.

"We cannot expect small businesses to fairly compete against more technologically advanced competitors," Kerry said. "Some experts estimate that universal broadband would add $500 billion to the U.S. economy and create 1.2 million jobs. With numbers like these beckoning, we need to focus on reestablishing our technological edge."

FCC commissioners Jonathan Adelstein and Michael Copps echoed Kerry's comments.

Adelstein cited Wikipedia as an example of the power of open Internet-based business models. "Broadband can also unlock transformational opportunities through the cooperative nature of the Internet," he said. "We are just scratching the surface of the opportunities that these technologies can bring."

Copps criticized the FCC's methods of measuring broadband availability as flawed, saying that the process is "woefully out-of-date and out-of-whack."

"The Commission is still calling 200 kilobits per second “broadband” and assuming that if one person in a ZIP code has broadband access, ergo, everyone else does as well," Copps said. "This is 2007, not 1997."

Both commissioners cited studies demonstrating the U.S.' dismal rankings in worldwide broadband adoption. "Each year, we slip further down the regular rankings of broadband penetration...the fact is the U.S. has dropped year-after-year," Adelstein said.

Elements of the national broadband strategy under discussion included passing laws to improve data collection on broadband access, such as the "Broadband Data Improvement Act" introduced by Sen. Daniel Inouye (D-HI) in July.

Copps advocated rededicating the Universal Service Fund towards subsidizing broadband access in rural and underserved areas, while Adelstein wanted more focus on the usage of licensed wireless spectrum as a potential third force for universal broadband.

"Spectrum is the lifeblood for much of this new communications landscape," Adelstein said. "The past several years have seen an explosion of new opportunities for consumers, like Wi-Fi, satellite-based technologies, and more advanced mobile services."

The FCC recently crafted compromise rules for the upcoming auction of wireless spectrum that placed incumbent telecom giants like AT&T against upstart tech titan Google. Both sides wanted access to the new spectrum, with Google advocating the resale of the spectrum to companies that would provide wireless broadband Internet service.

Although the FCC's compromise rules fell short of creating a new "third pipe," the mandate that consumers should be free to use any device on any network was enough to spur Verizon Wireless to sue the FCC to overturn the rules.

Both Adelstein and Copps characterized the current broadband market in America as a duopoly that prevents innovation and hinders consumer choice.

"Part of our problem is reliance upon duopoly and oligopoly where we should be enjoying vigorous carrier and network competition," Copps said. "The big losers are small companies squeezed out by the behemoths that have come to dominate the industry."

Kerry noted the Bush administration had promised universal, affordable broadband access.

"To compete and win in the new global economy, we need a national broadband strategy that encourages competition and expands access," Kerry said. "Previous generations put a toaster in every home and a car in every driveway as signs of economic progress—it’s time we do the same with high speed Internet access.”

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