TIA Outlines Key Principles And Recommendations For National Broadband Plan

Washington, D.C. – The Telecommunications Industry (TIA) today provided recommendations to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) for creating a strong National Broadband Plan that will improve lives, enhance innovation, and help restore America's long-term prosperity.

"We applaud the Commissioners for taking on this serious and urgent task that will help to improve Americans lives," said TIA Vice President for Government Affairs Danielle Coffey. "We thank the FCC, Congress and President Obama for identifying broadband as a top priority critical to our nation's infrastructure. A National Broadband Plan, if properly implemented, will also strengthen America's global competitiveness. We look forward to advising the FCC on behalf of the ICT industry on shaping a broadband strategy and defining its goals."

TIA outlined six key principles that should govern the Commission's approach to broadband policy. Specifically, it believes that the Commission should work to:

• enhance efforts to stimulate investment and innovation in next-generation broadband;
• pursue forward-looking spectrum management and the allocation of additional spectrum;
• strive to provide communications to all Americans, including low-income Americans and those in rural areas, and persons with disabilities;
• support open and fair market access for U.S. companies by promoting full, fair and open trade and competition in international markets;
• foster investment by increasing federal funding, and employing tax credits, expensing provisions, and similar tools; and
• promote the development of a broadband interoperable public safety network capable of protecting all communities in the event of further domestic disasters.

TIA also included a "Roadmap" with a timeline setting targeted goals over the next three years for use as guideposts in moving forward with the National Broadband Plan.

In its comments (excerpted below; full comments will be posted on TIA's FCC filings page at tiaonline.org), TIA also strongly urged the Commission to take into consideration the complexity of the nation's broadband needs as well as the technology necessary for delivery:

"The broadband ecosystem is wonderfully (and confoundingly complex), marked by diverse overlapping networks, with different capabilities, serving wildly different users with broadly ranging demands that are themselves in constant flux. ‘Broadband penetration' is not a binary ‘yes or no' trait, easily tracked in black and white. A user has varying broadband needs at work that will differ from needs at home, and ‘on the go.' All three of these will differ from the needs of parents, siblings, colleagues, and children. Moreover, questions regarding supply are as complex as those involving demand. Some areas of the country have high demand for broadband but no access, while other areas have access that is too slow for contemporary and emerging applications, and many have access to networks but have not adopted broadband due to lack of computer ownership or digital literacy. Indeed some families might have sufficient broadband capacity but inadequate demand, or no ac! cess to the computer equipment needed to enjoy that capacity. And even in areas with high capacity and high demand, a single connection often will not suffice, as users may value the relative attributes of wired or fixed service, mobile wireless, and other platforms differently over the course of a single day.

"In short, efforts to track and promote the use of affordable high-quality broadband must account for the heterogeneity of the American broadband experience. The ability to check a box proclaiming the availability of ‘broadband' in a given locale is not sufficient. The Commission's Plan must concern itself with ensuring a robust broadband ecosystem across all fronts: We must serve the unserved, improve access to the underserved, stimulate adoption among the unserved and underserved, promote competition among different platforms offering different value propositions, and subsidize network construction, one time computer and device costs, and recurring subscription costs where necessary. We must ensure service to residential end users, schools, healthcare providers, community anchor institutions, public safety agencies, and all other members of the community. We must teach the unconnected to use ICT to improve their lives, and support programs that enable the underpr! ivileged to acquire computers and other crucial hardware."

SOURCE: Telecommunications Industry Association (TIA)