New FCC chairman sees broadband as priority

The new head of the Federal Communications Commission wants affordable broadband access for all Americans, according to an article in Monday's Wall Street Journal.

Julius Genachowski sat down with the Journal for one of his first interviews since being sworn in as FCC chairman in late June and said that making affordable high-speed Internet available throughout the nation could be the "most successful driver of economic growth" in the nation.

FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski

(Credit: FCC)

Exactly, how he plans to do this is something that broadband providers, such as AT&T, Verizon Communications, and Comcast, are watching carefully. The new chairman has not been vocal yet about how he stands on many issues that will affect these companies.

Some issues that are currently under discussion at the FCC include new rules that dictate how broadband providers manage their networks. Comcast got into trouble last year for slowing down its customers' peer-to-peer Bit Torrent traffic without providing sufficient notice. Consumer groups have been advocating for stronger rules or regulation that prohibit such types of changes.

There are also discussions before the FCC about rules requiring companies to lease network space to competitors. Broadband providers have argued that imposing strict, new rules could stifle innovation and investment.

The FCC has also been looking at exclusivity deals that wireless phone providers have been striking with mobile handset makers. These deals include AT&T's exclusive contract with Apple to offer the iPhone on its network, and Sprint Nextel's exclusive arrangement to carry the Palm Pre. Some lawmakers and consumer groups say it is unfair for carriers to strike these deals because it keeps cutting-edge products out of the hands of consumers who do not live in regions where these services are offered.

In an effort to fend off criticism, Verizon Wireless, the largest wireless carrier in the U.S., said last week it will allow smaller, regional carriers to get access to its exclusive phones after six months.

There are also a slew of other issues that the FCC must deal with soon, including whether to overhaul the Universal Service Fund, which subsidizes phone service for rural Americans. Phone companies have complained for years that the system is broken. And others have urged the FCC to reallocate some of the funds collected for USF for subsidizing broadband services.

It will be interesting to see which side Genachowski will take on these issues. Generally speaking, many people perceived former chairman Kevin Martin as often siding with the phone companies, while having a more contentious relationship with cable companies. Specifically, the former chairman's campaign to force cable companies to offer a la carte pricing for cable TV put him squarely at odds with that industry.

[rmva]

If he had announced that landlines were a priority, that would have been news! This, not so much.

[iptofar]

Why can't people just pay for what they get rather than picking someone else's pockets for their "necessities"? Broadband is hardly a necessity for life.

[PhaseDMA]

When 3rd world countries can get something at better quality, and a lower price then America there starts to be a major issue. Is broadband a necessity? No. Will it be sooner then later? Yes.

Do the majority of Americans want cheap internet access? Yes.

Should this be a federal government concern? Yes.

[pwrhamr]

If you had school children you would see the benefit of broadband. It levels the playing field for kids in low income and especially rural areas. Besides reference sites you can actually teach classes online. Cant do that with dial-up.
It allows individual business people in economically depressed or, again, rural areas to get their product sold world wide. Dial-up just isnt economical for downloading graphics and pictures to show your product.
That is just a couple of things it can do that are "necessities".

[boji55]

Its about time the US gets faster internet for a lower price, I am currently living in Bulgaria for business reasons and I get 50mbits for 20 bucks on a Ethernet connection straight in my house.

[mbenedict]

You know last year the European Commission ranked Bulgaria's telecom services quality dead *last* in the EU, right?

Sure you can get cheap broadband local-loop in small parts of Bulgaria (which has the lowest broadband access ratio in the EU, under 8%) but high-speed means nothing without quality and reliability. E.g., that 50 mbps line you have is only to the local telco station, for connections to domestic Bulgarian servers. Try to connect to a server outside Bulgaria and the connection drops to DSL speeds.

So, the few Bulgarians who have broadband access are basically paying for DSL service over ethernet at an average price of 45 leva (20 euro; US$30) per month... which is no bargain.

[boji55]

I get 50 mbits its a Ethernet connection form my house to the switch outside which then connects to an optic cable and i do get about 35mbits to LA from Bulgaria with about 100ms latency which is not that good , I will never ever get ADSL or DSL connection in Bulgaria because that's my job currently and just from the knowledge that I have I think internet over telephone wire is the worst internet access that you can have. In my opinion.

[redmarine]

Meh... Having a decent internet connection doesn't cost anything major these days and it's actually pretty cheap here in Europe. It's actually laughable that it costs so much in the US and that not everyone is able to get it. In my country every household can get a broadband if they wanted as the connection is there.