Broadband Plan Research Articles

Ethnic Media as Partners for Increasing Broadband Adoption and Social Inclusion

Abstract How can the goal of the National Broadband Plan (NBP) to alleviate social disparities be achieved? Katz, Matsaganis and Ball-Rokeach believe that local ethnic media, working with local anchor institutions, are the key to ethnic and minority broadband adoption and social inclusion. The authors illustrate this by showing how ethnic media can help realize the NBP's goals generally, and specifically with regard to developing a National Digital Literacy Corps and an online Digital Literacy Portal. Such media are, however, threatened by ongoing media ownership concentration and the defunding of public media. Sustaining such media, they argue, requires proactive public policy: inclusion in the E-Rate program; help with going online; development grant opportunities; antitrust enforcement; adoption of the NBP's call for a National Digital Literacy Corps and an online Digital Literacy Portal; and more research on the content and contextual features of ethnic media and on how they compare with “mainstream” media. This will accelerate achievement of the NBP's goals.

Implementation of National Broadband Plans: Agreed Regulatory Principles and Their Evolution

In a number of different fora (particularly the OECD and the ITU) governments have adopted a set of principles which are intended to guide the roll-out of national broadband networks. These principles include, but are not limited to, effective competition, technological neutrality, and the existence of an independent telecommunications regulator, to name just three.The WTO Agreement also contains a set of principles and rules that apply to the supply of services in the telecommunications sector, which also apply to national broadband networks.Since these principles and rules were adopted in the late 1990s and early to mid 2000s, numerous governments have moved ahead with the conceptualization and implementation (roll-out) of their national broadband plans, with varying degrees of adherence to the principles and rules initially agreed upon.This paper discusses the underlying context of national broadband plans as well as the various stakeholders and interests involved in their formulation and adoption. It then discusses some of the most important principles have been agreed shall govern the roll-out of these plans before analyzing how the plans of three governments in particular - Australia, Singapore and the United States - have fared in adhering to these principles. It concludes with a discussion of the possible implications of any deviations from the agreed principles where these may have occurred.

On the Road to More Efficient Pricing of Telecommunications Services: A Look at the Evidence

Communications Commission (“FCC”) in its CALLS Order in 2000, which reduced usage based access rates and raised caps on the Subscriber Line Charge (“SLC”), a fixed, monthly fee paid by local phone company subscribers for basic connections. At present, the Commission is evaluating additional reform of this type labeled the “America’s Broadband Connectivity Plan” (the “ABC Plan”), which proposes, among other things, to cut per minute access rates to near zero ($0.0007 per minute) and raise the cap on the SLC over five-years, satisfying the National Broadband Plan’s recommendation for “long-term intercarrier compensation (ICC) reform that creates a glide path to eliminate per-minute charges while providing carriers an opportunity for adequate cost recovery.” Given the movement to more efficient pricing over the past 30 years, it should be possible to evaluate the effect on consumers from such changes by looking at historical data. I do so here. Using data collected by the FCC, I study access revenues received by large, traditional telephone carriers over the period 1990 through 2007. My analysis suggests that the migration to more efficient pricing has substantially benefited consumers – the average local phone consumer pays $8 less in interstate monthly access charges today, when pricing is more efficient, than in the past when the pricing system was riddled with cross-subsidies. Moreover, for the average phone company customer, the data indicate that for every $1 reduction in carrier revenues from usage fees, revenues from SLCs increase only $0.40. Thus, the expected elimination of $2 in monthly per line usage-based access revenues is expected to increase SLC revenues only by about $0.80 on a per-line, per-month basis, well below the proposed cap increase of $3.75 per line month.

Update on Spectrum Issues for Television Broadcasting

Spectrum was always a central core issue during the U.S. DTV transition. The original Federal Communications Commission (FCC) proceeding on advanced television, tracing back to 1987, envisioned a new system as a way to keep television broadcasting competitive, and the promise of dazzling pictures from HDTV was a compelling motivation, requiring adequate spectrum to initiate the new service. But governmental motivation to recover spectrum became a powerful incentive to propel and ultimately in June 2009 to complete the transition, with the U.S. government recouping 108 MHz of spectrum from the broadcast allocation—24 MHz reallocated for use by public safety and the rest yielding auction revenues of almost $20 billion for the Treasury. Spectrum, as a finite resource, is a much valued asset. Now that the DTV transition has been completed for over two years, pressure has been mounting from other industries and their supporters that foresee their own spectrum needs growing and further reallocation or sharing of broadcast spectrum as a way to satiate those needs. The FCC's National Broadband Plan and authorization of unlicensed devices operating in the TV bands are particular current examples of interest.

Broadband in the Burbs: NBN Infrastructure, Spectrum Politics and the Digital Home

Broadband in the Burbs: NBN Infrastructure, Spectrum Politics and the Digital Home

Re-Auction of the D Block: A Review of the Arguments

This paper demonstrates the problems behind the plan to reauction the D Block for commercial purposes. First, a re-auction of the D Block is unlikely to generate $3 billion in revenues as some believe. Statistical analysis of auction data indicates that a 10 MHz block of spectrum in the 700 MHz band must be unencumbered to produce $3 billion in revenues. However, the FCC’s National Broadband Plan envisions a number of significant encumbrances on the re-auction of the D Block that have reduced auction revenue in the past. Second, the Phoenix Center points out that the re-auction of the D Block cannot fully fund the public safety network – not even close. A nationwide public safety network is expected to cost about $10 to $13 billion. The D Block re-auction offers no other mechanism by which to generate funds for the remaining network construction and operating costs. Third, the report considers the potential broader adverse market effects of a D Block re-auction. The evidence indicates that the public safety community needs a full 20 MHz of spectrum. If given only 10 MHz today as a result of a re-auction of the D Block, then the additional 10 MHz must be obtained from either future spectrum assignments or the capacity equivalent thereof obtained via burdensome public safety use of commercial spectrum. This alternate block of spectrum will not be contiguous to the existing 10 MHz public safety block as is the D Block, which has the effect of increasing the deployment cost of the public safety network by an estimated $4 billion relative to the D Block assignment. Filling the public safety spectrum shortage with public safety obligations on commercial providers could substantially reduce future auction revenues.

Emerging cognitive radio applications: A survey

Recent developments in spectrum policy and regulatory domains, notably the release of the National Broadband Plan, the publication of final rules for TV white spaces, and the ongoing proceeding for secondary use of the 2360-2400 MHz band for medical body area networks, will allow more flexible and efficient use of spectrum in the future. These important changes open up exciting opportunities for cognitive radio to enable and support a variety of emerging applications, ranging from smart grid, public safety and broadband cellular, to medical applications. This article presents a high-level view on how cognitive radio (primarily from a dynamic spectrum access perspective) would support such applications, the benefits that cognitive radio would bring, and also some challenges that are yet to be resolved. We also illustrate related standardization that uses cognitive radio technologies to support such emerging applications.

Promoting Universal Broadband through Middle Mile Institutions: A Legislative Agenda

Abstract Can broadband save declining communities? The National Broadband Plan pays more attention than any previous policy to this question. Professor Jayakar focuses on community-based public and non-profit institutions which serve as anchor institutions or demand aggregators, and which provide job training, digital literacy instruction, continuing education, and entrepreneurship classes. He conducts an analysis based on extensive usage and penetration data and determines which situations are most likely to produce the greatest return on investment. He then recommends specific legislative and regulatory enablers.

Promoting Broadband Diffusion: Applying the REA Model

Abstract How can we achieve the universality goal of the National Broadband Plan? Professor Garcia and Tarkan Rosenberg see this not primarily as a problem of deployment, but of creating demand. An example of how to do this, they say, is the collaboration of the Rural Electrification Administration (REA) and the rural telephone cooperatives, which drove high levels of rural telephone penetration. They suggest how this model could be adapted to work with the National Broadband Plan, and offer some legislative recommendations to support it.

Universal Service in the National Broadband Plan: A Case for Federal-State Cooperation

Abstract Professor Bernt's article details how the transition from voice service to broadband under the FCC's National Broadband Plan leaves unresolved many issues regarding the role of the states. She proposes using a new “functional” model in which the role of the states in protecting rural and low-income consumers is maintained.

Universal Service in the National Broadband Plan: A Case for Federal-State Cooperation

Abstract Professor Bernt's article details how the transition from voice service to broadband under the FCC's National Broadband Plan leaves unresolved many issues regarding the role of the states. She proposes using a new “functional” model in which the role of the states in protecting rural and low-income consumers is maintained.

Promoting Broadband Diffusion: Applying the REA Model

Abstract How can we achieve the universality goal of the National Broadband Plan? Professor Garcia and Tarkan Rosenberg see this not primarily as a problem of deployment, but of creating demand. An example of how to do this, they say, is the collaboration of the Rural Electrification Administration (REA) and the rural telephone cooperatives, which drove high levels of rural telephone penetration. They suggest how this model could be adapted to work with the National Broadband Plan, and offer some legislative recommendations to support it.

Promoting Universal Broadband through Middle Mile Institutions: A Legislative Agenda

Abstract Can broadband save declining communities? The National Broadband Plan pays more attention than any previous policy to this question. Professor Jayakar focuses on community-based public and non-profit institutions which serve as anchor institutions or demand aggregators, and which provide job training, digital literacy instruction, continuing education, and entrepreneurship classes. He conducts an analysis based on extensive usage and penetration data and determines which situations are most likely to produce the greatest return on investment. He then recommends specific legislative and regulatory enablers.

The Year in Economics at the FCC: A National Plan for Broadband

The past year in economics at the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has focused on encouraging the adoption and deployment of high capacity Internet access and the associated networks, commonly termed “broadband.” Our article sketches important economic themes in the FCC’s National Broadband Plan to show how the application of basic principles of regulatory economics takes account of rapid technological change. We discuss natural monopoly regulation, externalities and cross-subsidies, network effects and interconnection, the allocation of scarce inputs, protecting and fostering competitive markets, and consumer protection and transparency as they apply to the development of broadband.

R&D for broadband communications: a proposal to revitalize broadband R&D in the united states

Successful implementation of the National Broadband Plan is essential for driving the U.S. economy and society, and for meeting the national challenges. It is a critical enabling infrastructure for other industries such as healthcare, energy, and transportation, and in fact is a key component of the value chain across all sectors. Improving the cost effectiveness and impact of ICT will enable a higher-performance nation and boost the overall economy. As this column has emphasized, research, development, and innovation must be supported across the entire technology supply chain from devices, components, and systems to networking, services, applications, content, and media. RD for example, as new networking capabilities are deployed, we must also develop new and enhanced policies for ensuring their security, privacy, and trust in order to realize the value and benefits. We recommend the creation of an objective, trusted organization to provide coordination, management, and oversight for broadband R&D investment funding. With R&D investment directed to key gaps, and the development of public-private partnerships and cross-sector coordination through an entity for broadband and information networking R&D, we can ensure improved international competitiveness and productivity improvements for all citizens, sectors, and organizations, public and private.

Bumps on the Road to the National Broadband Plan

The US Federal Communications Commission's new long-term vision for broadband deployment, featuring connectivity for every citizen, increased spectrum allocation for wireless applications, and so on, has been delayed and perhaps sidetracked. Why? Because of the recent Google-Verizon proposal, network-neutrality disputes, uncertainties about the feasibility of "broadband for everybody" policy, and many more issues.

The Year in Economics at the FCC: A National Plan for Broadband

The past year in economics at the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has focused on encouraging the adoption and deployment of high capacity Internet access and the associated networks, commonly termed “broadband.” Our article sketches important economic themes in the FCC’s National Broadband Plan to show how the application of basic principles of regulatory economics takes account of rapid technological change. We discuss natural monopoly regulation, externalities and cross-subsidies, network effects and interconnection, the allocation of scarce inputs, protecting and fostering competitive markets, and consumer protection and transparency as they apply to the development of broadband.

Keeping the Internet’s Promise: Universal, Open and Safe

Looking back on 2009, it is clear that telecommunications policy worldwide is in a potentially valuable and far-reaching period of change, as governments consider the most effective role they can play in spreading broadband technologies and connecting their citizens to the Internet. Approaches to connectivity vary across developed and developing economies. Singapore has developed a plan for a heavily regulated next generation network that will be divided into at least four tiers. Australia is weighing the feasibility of a governmentfinanced fiber-to-the-premises network, which aspires to connect 90 per cent of its homes and businesses, but would require an investment of US$34 billion. The United Kingdom’s ‘Digital Britain’ report, released in June 2009, seeks universal broadband access by 2012 and also recommends a tax on phone lines to pay for extending advanced networks to areas that are unlikely to receive commercial service. In the United States, the Federal Communications Commission has embarked on an expansive process to develop a National Broadband Plan to be delivered to Congress in March 2010. Despite the different paths these countries may choose to meet their own particular market facts, they are all seeking to strengthen their citizens’ national and international sense of community by delivering next generation Internet connectivity to all. Importantly, the goal of connectivity extends beyond national borders. As the Internet Governance Forum has noted, it is vital that governments and nongovernmental groups consider ‘ways and means to accelerate the availability and affordability of the Internet in the developing world’ (http://www.intgovforum.org/cms/index.php/aboutigf). The international community recognizes, among developing and developed economies alike, the profound importance of inclusiveness through connectivity to the Internet and high-speed deployment. In this way, broadband serves as a great unifier, an agent of inclusiveness that brings Internet users from all corners of the world into a single online community that can widely deliver new opportunities. The global inclusiveness brought by broadband connectivity is essential for achieving broad societal goals by helping to build stronger economies, facilitate more efficient use of resources to foster environmental sustainability, deliver better health care and empower individuals with a greater ability to communicate, exchange information and access educational resources. In addition to connectivity and inclusiveness, policy must seek to ensure that users have a quality experience when online. Users will benefit if policy makers take a holistic approach to broadband policy. Just as each component of a network has an effect on other pieces, every decision that governments make about broadband and the Internet will shape the broader digital society that is now emerging around the world. An Internet that truly works for everybody must be universal, open, respect individual privacy and be safe for all users. By universal, I mean that broadband service must be available and affordable to consumers everywhere. When all are connected, all can share the benefits made possible by this unique ‘many-to-many’ platform that we call the Internet. Openness means an Internet ecosystem that enables users to exchange ideas and communicate freely; connect to the lawful applications and content of their choice; and select the service and equipment packages that best meet their needs. It also means that content providers, network operators, search engines, websites and other Internet participants promote interoperable platforms and technologies in order to innovate with new products, ideas and business models that provide more choices to consumers. Providing a safe experience and protecting users’ privacy and personal data must also be high priorities. Sadly, the Internet’s benefits can be placed at risk by cybercrime, phishing, viruses, spamming and other harmful behavior. Because global networks are linked and freely cross national borders, fighting these online threats requires the same level of international cooperation that is needed to fight First, focus on broad goals. Do not gear policy toward specific technologies.

Telecommunications and internet broadband policy: sorting out the pieces for telerehabilitation.

Technological change is accelerating and with it regulatory upheaval. Most of us agree that providing universal telecommunication services to all our citizens is a worthy ideal. Nonetheless, many of us do not agree that regulation should be the means to make broadband Internet services widely available. This Viewpoint begins sorting out pieces of the emerging United States, regulatory and policy puzzle for broadband Internet with an eye to the interests of telerehabilitation providers and consumers. Just how might changes in legal authority, regulation and agency jurisdictions impact us?

Take your partners: Public private interplay in Australian and New Zealand plans for next generation broadband

Within a few days of each other in early 2009, the national governments of Australia and New Zealand announced separate plans to invest heavily in advanced broadband networks. Taxpayers in each country will contribute at least half the estimated cost of fibre-to-the-premises networks reaching the overwhelming majority of households and businesses within 8–10 years. These complex and controversial forms of ‘public private interplay’ demonstrate three trends: a shift away from the liberalization and privatization policy consensus of the last two decades; shared convictions about the anticipated size of fast broadband’s economic and social benefits, and about the need for wholesale-only fixed line network operation to maximize those benefits; and the unlikely impact of the global financial and economic crisis in stimulating investment in particular infrastructures seen as critical to the national economies that emerge from it. This article discusses industry structures and regulation in Australia and New Zealand, their long history of public investment in telecommunications and the recent popularity of public private partnerships (PPPs) with Australian state governments. It outlines the ambitious broadband plans and surveys their prospects. Like so many other policy actions following the global economic crisis, these are distinctively national responses to internationally shared challenges.