FCC Eyes National Broadband Program After Success Of Digital T.V. Transition
By Joseph Russell- Talk Radio News Service
The Federal Communication Commission (FCC) unveiled the details of the congressionally mandated national broadband program Thursday during a Commissioners meeting.
The national broadband program aims to provide every American access to broadband internet. The FCC announced that they would be launching a website, www.broadband.gov, and kicking off staff workshops to organize the presentation of their report. The completion of the program is expected to occur on February, 17 2010.
“Broadband is so important to achieving our national goals. Congress has entrusted the FCC with the responsibility of developing a strategic plan…to ensure that all people of the United States have access to broadband capability,” said Commissioner Chairman Julius Genachowski.
The recent transfer to digital television (DTV), which the commissioners hailed as a success, will in many ways serve as a template for the broadband program.
“We had a great system. Our teams worked around the clock to resolve any problems expeditiously, a key factor to success. I’d say our teams of 200 plus people really put a face and name to the FCC. . . we become an outreach organization, no longer a bureaucratic agency,” said Field Operations Captain Roger Goldblatt
One Response to “FCC Eyes National Broadband Program After Success Of Digital T.V. Transition”
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July 2nd, 2009 at 3:25 pm
The “success” of the digital transition? My dear mother-in-law used to get eight broadcast channels. Now she gets one, sometimes. And there are large, cable-inaccessible pockets of the country that have simply given up on receiving television at all. Please define “success”. It was certainly “successfully” completed by broadcasters, and was probably “successful” for some cable and satellite companies. The FCC can pat itself on the back for the challenging task of continuing to exist past the transition date. But what I’m seeing is a lot of rural and poor people simply ignored and cut out of the calculation.
I’d love to see universal broadband, but considering the FCC’s track record, I suspect it’s just a ploy to make more money for their cable company pals, and that people who don’t make the cut for cost-effective revenue will simply become invisible.
They sure love that February 17 date. Perhaps it will eventually become one of those dates that will live in infamy.