Blair Levin, former director of the FCC’s Omnibus Broadband Initiative and now a Fellow with the Aspen Institute, spoke this week at a Broadband Breakfast event.  Levin shared his pride in the creation of the National Broadband Plan and also his secret inspiration for it (which is no longer so secret).

Levin referred to an old Apple ad from the late 80’s in which one office executive asks another “which computer do you think is the most powerful?”  The other responds “I think it’s the one people actually use.”  Levin’s point, which is well – taken, is that the important thing is not the numbers, but how people use broadband.

The conversation continued with a panel of key industry officials representing Canada, Korea, the UK, and other parts of Europe, moderated by Lynn Stanton, Senior Editor of TR Reports.   The panelists echoed support for the plan and shared their respective countries’ stories of broadband success.   You can watch the Broadband Breakfast, titled “International Perspectives on the U.S. National Broadband Plan,” in its entirety below.

International Perspectives on the U.S. National Broadband Plan from Broadband Breakfast on Vimeo.

Today, Phoebe Yang, General Counsel for the Omnibus Broadband Initiative at the FCC, joined a panel titled “The Future of Broadband” that was hosted by the CQ-Roll Call Group.  Yang wanted to focus on two calls to action in the broadband plan.  First, she believes the national priorities are key because of how they will benefit Americans. Yang cited that 62% of American workers rely on the Internet to do their jobs, and then touched on just some of the opportunities broadband creates in the education and public safety sectors.  Her second focus is making broadband ubiquitous, which led to the establishment of the Connect America and Mobility Funds to help with access to the unserved.

NextGenWeb will continue to follow the challenges and successes as the FCC continues to move into the implementation phase of the National Broadband Plan.

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