Innovative Visions

Previously, I have discussed the state of our domestic broadband offerings and the danger it poses to future generations’ ability to innovate and compete in the world market. Prices are high for services which are slow… and this is all compared to what you can get in Lithuania! In the process I directed your attention to this piece, written by FCC member Michael J. Copps in last November’s Washington Post which tells the story behind why the US ranks 15^th worldwide in broadband Internet adoption.

Well, here is the next chapter, but this time it directly involves the FCC. Nate Anderson (from ArsTechnica), wrote on Monday about the Center for Public Integrity (CPI) taking the FCC to task in federal court to release their database of Form 477 filings.

“CPI wants the FCC database of Form 477 filings. These documents are filed with the FCC by every telecom company in the US, and they give the agency data on each company’s line deployments, broken down by ZIP code (and generally unaudited by the FCC).”

The FCC is protesting, saying this will reveal confidential competitive information about all carriers and their future plans. Every major telecommunications’ lobbying group agree. However, The CPI may have a good point here. They want to determine, for themselves, how competitive the broadband market really is and need to data to do so.

This is a crucial step in the process to increase competition, thus improving services while decreasing costs to consumers and companies. The problem is that the GAO (the federal agency in charge of internal auditing) has repeatedly chastised the FCC for its inaccurate reporting of actual broadband availability and adoption. However, without these filings, there is no way to hold the broadband providers accountable. If successful, the CPI hopes to publish the data on its telecommunications/technology/media information site.

IV works with all of these carriers on a daily basis and some of our revenue is derived from these partnerships. Why, you ask would be we want to encourage the release of this information? Because not only is widespread broadband adoption necessary, but crucial for the US to remain competitive in the global marketplace. This will help us all! I will say it again: The US is currently ranked 15^th in the world in broadband adoption and will only drop in these standings if competition continues to remain stagnant (with the help of the FCC). Will we be hearing more about this or will it be swept under the rug with a handshake? Thanks to the CPI, I think it might have a chance in the national spotlight.

I’d like to follow up on a point from yesterday’s post where I mention that the US now has the ability to perhaps lead the charge into Web2.0 with fully integrated and customized content and services.

“Many imply (including Malik) that, like many other technology innovations (such cellular services), Europe and Asia will probably be at the forefront of this wave.”

As with cellular services of yesterday, our future success depends on government involvement today. Normally I’m not one to promote the idea of government officials tampering with technology, because they generally don’t have a clue what their talking about (i.e. Bush referring to such things as “The Google” and stating that he doesn’t “trust email”). But, let me give you an example of how this has helped in the past.

In the 90’s as cell phone services were coming into broader use around the world, the French government decided to do something interesting. It went around France and purchased all of the cellular companies, standardized them all on one technology and then released them back to the private sector. What did this do? Well, it ensured that all R&D from then on would be done on ONE technology.

As much as I love US capitalism, it is the primary reason why we can’t have mobile video conferencing features in the palm of our hand. Imagine what we could have done if Sprint, Verizon, AT&T and all of the other cell companies in the country were working on the same technology this whole time?!?

In the same fashion, I believe it’s time for the US government to take a stand and ensure that every single household and business in this country has broadband access to the Internet; and soon! Without this access our economy will continue to fall behind those of developing nations. As Michael J. Copps, a member of the Federal Communication Commission wrote in Wednesday’s Washington Post, “America’s record in expanding broadband communication is so poor that it should be viewed as an outrage by every consumer and businessperson in the country. Too few of us have broadband connections, and those who do pay too much for service that is too slow. It’s hurting our economy, and things are only going to get worse if we don’t do something about it.”

Amen, Mr. Copps. He goes on to state how this can be done in this great op-ed piece. First, the FCC has to redefine what it calls “broadband.” Our “broadband” is 20 times slower than the rest of the world and we’re paying 3 times as much for it. Hopefully, we can listen to him and do something about our world ranking of 15^th in broadband penetration. 15^th!!!