(You can download a PDF of the full January 27, 2010 filing referenced in the press release below here [0])

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:  February 27, 2010

Groups Push FCC to be Bold in National Broadband Plan

Coalition says the Plan must contain 5 key benchmarks to have a chance at succeeding

A coalition of public interest and consumer groups is urging the Federal Communications Commission to include a set of bold benchmarks and policies in the agency’s upcoming National Broadband Plan.  The groups issued their challenge to the FCC on the date the Plan was originally due to Congress per the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act.  The Plan is now due on March 17, 2010.

"The Commission should not be timid in the creation of national broadband policy. The Plan should match the ambitious spirit of the Recovery Act, and should chart a course that will bring the nation a world-class information infrastructure available to add U.S. residents. We welcome the Chairman's announcement of the '100 Squared' initiative as a crucial starting point, and look forward to further, aggressive efforts to expand broadband development in the months and years to come," said Parul P. Desai of Media Access Project. [1]

The public interest and consumer coalition urged the Commission, at minimum, embrace the following five benchmarks.  Specific policy recommendations to address each benchmark are contained in filing submitted by the groups to the Commission and is available here [1].

Benchmark #1: The FCC should set a goal that U.S. broadband adoption of world- class networks shall equal to current rate of telephone adoption (over 90%) by 2020.
The groups said that these networks should be available at world class speeds with prices and quality of service that are reasonably comparable for all U.S. consumers. “With one-third of U.S. households lacking broadband service at home, the Obama Administration should declare the goal of raising the level of broadband adoption within a decade to 90 percent, which is about the level of telephone penetration today,” said Mark Cooper, Director of Research at the Consumer Federation of America [2]. “Like John F. Kennedy’s challenge to America to put a man on the moon within a decade, the U.S. needs to rise to meet its down to earth economic problem.  Ending digital exclusion, which was the result of the Bush administration’s trickle down broadband policy, would be a major social and economic accomplishment.”

Benchmark #2: The FCC should set a goal of substantially improving the level of competition between providers of broadband Internet access to move the country out of a stagnant duopoly by the end of 2012.
According to the Department of Justice and the National Telecommunications and Information Administration, the nation’s broadband market is a rigid duopoly. “When consumers do not have adequate choice in the broadband market, the Commission should intervene, and consider all options to bring about competition, including some form of infrastructure sharing,” said Public Knowledge’s [3] Harold Feld.

Benchmark #3: The FCC should set a goal of establishing real consumer protections for broadband customers within 12-18 months.
“You shouldn’t need an accounting degree to understand your monthly bill,” said Joel Kelsey of Consumers Union. [4]  “The agency should waste no time in establishing new rules to protect consumers against price gouging, unfair billing practices, anticompetitive bundling, exorbitant early termination fees, and undisclosed interference in consumers’ communications.”

Benchmark #4: The FCC should set a goal of implementing new broadband data collection standards and rules for utilizing that data in market analyses by the end of 2010.
Without sufficient and accurate data it becomes very difficult to make informed policy decisions.  While the Commission has recently taken important steps to improve its broadband data collection, that work is only just beginning.  The FCC must continue to improve its current data collection; establish new metrics and methods to provide an accurate picture of broadband availability, competition, performance, price, and use; and ensure the data is easily accessible by the public to encourage robust and independent analysis," said Benjamin Lennett of the New America Foundation's Open Technology Initiative. [5]

Benchmark #5: The FCC should set a goal of establishing rules protecting open markets for speech and commerce on broadband networks as soon as feasible.
Ben Scott of Free Press [6] added, “It should be impossible to talk about the Plan for universal availability and adoption of world-class broadband networks without underlining the importance of openness.  The Commission should complete its current proceeding to establish non-discrimination rules and broadly ensure all devices are open, standardized, and portable across all end-user broadband networks.”

“The incumbent carriers have had well over a decade to meet U.S. broadband needs, but they have failed to do so. The FCC has more than enough data to craft a visionary and effective National Broadband Plan, and the agency should embrace all of the tools at its disposal to fulfill Congress' mandate.  The public expects and deserves no less,” concluded Desai.

# # #

Local and National Groups Support a Bold Broadband Plan
The following organizations that work at the local, regional and national level to promote public interest broadband policies and access to technology added their statements in support of the a bold National Broadband Plan, as well as the benchmarks urged in the press statement above.

"Broadband Internet access promotes public safety, education and opportunities for advancement, and those without broadband are finding it increasingly difficult to enjoy these basic rights.  Latinos, other people of color, and the poor - folks who are most in need of broadband opportunities - are often the ones who go without. The National Hispanic Media Coalition supports the public interest advocates' filing because we believe that its bold recommendations will advance broadband deployment and adoption in the neediest communities."
Jessica Gonzalez, Policy Counsel, National Hispanic Media Coalition [7]

“The National Broadband Plan is an opportunity to set bold and meaningful goals and detail the actions necessary to achieve these benchmarks.  If the Obama administration is serious about closing the digital divide, both within the United States as well as our woeful international standing, they will have no better opportunity.  On the other hand, if the FCC signals that it will continue business as usual -- causing irreparable harm to communities and constituencies who have continued to be woefully underserved, then they should expect vociferous opposition to their national broadband plan from throughout the public interest and civil rights sectors.”
Sascha Meinrath, Director of the Open Technology Initiative at the New America Foundation [8]

“The Center for Media Justice urges the FCC to create a national broadband plan that ensures an Internet that is affordable, open, and a force for economic development in marginalized communities. To date, almost 200 organizations and small businesses have signed a pledged to encourage the FCC to defend broadband access with open Internet protections that would ensure that the voices and ideas of people of color and the poor have equal access to the Internet.”
Amalia Deloney, Coordinator, Media Action Grassroots Network [9]

"Public interest groups have taken the lead in defining a comprehensive Internet policy that serves all the American people. We can't afford to fall behind the rest of the world and with an innovative National Broadband Plan that incorporates these recommendations, we won't.”
Tracy Rosenberg, Executive Director, Media Alliance [10]

“In addition to promoting jobs and economic development, the ARRA's broadband stimulus programs should help develop community-based models for broadband deployment, adoption and meaningful use in unserved and underserved populations. The private sector alone has not gotten us to universal broadband, a requirement for everyone to be able to participate fully in our economy and civic life.  What we learn from the successes and failures of BTOP and BIP funding will help shape the government's future role in broadband rollout and adoption for years to come.”
Charles Benton, Chairman & CEO, Benton Foundation [11]

“Widespread broadband deployment and network neutrality have been a core part of the social justice advocacy of the United Church of Christ's media justice project and the interfaith media justice coalition So We Might See.  As the Bring Betty Broadband campaign demonstrates, high speed Internet is a key component for economic justice for everyone--the disenfranchised, people of color, and people with low incomes.  I urge the FCC to heed the call of our allies in setting forth a bold and far-reaching national broadband plan. “
Cheryl Leanza, policy advisor to the UCC's OC Inc. [12] and So We Might See Coalition

“As more news, cultural work and essential services migrate online, America's digital communications infrastructure has not kept pace with demand or need. Rural and native populations and the urban poor, who often can't access or can't afford broadband services, face an increasing information deficit and a connectivity crisis. We need a national strategy that will universalize access, but also that will expand civic empowerment through digital literacy education.”
Jonathan Lawson, Executive Director, Reclaim the Media [13]

“Forty percent of Philadelphians do not have Internet access in their homes because the cost of broadband is too high. The FCC must put in place a NBP that recognizes the ways in which the Internet is deeply entwined with other problems American cities face from poverty to joblessness and educational access, and therefore takes the lead in developing a program to make sure all Philadelphians and urban Americans have affordable Internet.”
Todd Wolfson, Co-Founder, Media Mobilizing Project [14]

"As the FCC finalizes their National Broadband Plan it's critical that the plan promotes universal access to a fair fast broadband Internet but also includes measures to ensure strong competition for consumers who could face few choices and high prices."
Amina Fazlullah, Counsel, U.S. PIRG [15]

"The Obama FCC stands at a crucial digital crossroads. Will it act now to ensure all Americans have affordable and real high-speed broadband access?   Or will Washington special interest business as usual--shaped by high-paid corporate lobbyists--determine the country's digital destiny?  It's time for Chairman Genachowski to prove he will help American consumers, not the telecom and cable giants.”
Jeff Chester, Executive Director, Center for Digital Democracy [16]
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