Mark A. Jamison, Director of the Unviersity of Florida’s Public Utility Research Center, and Janice Hauge, Associate Professor of the Department of Economics at the University of North Texas collaborated on an opinion piece in today’s South Florida Times to paint the picture of a one-dimensional network. They point out the harm to innovation and consumers that such regulations could in fact create.

The authors use the highway analogy, pointing out how much value today’s transportation system would offer without options like high occupancy vehicle lanes, car-only lanes, and toll road alternatives.  It’s these types of competitive choices that drive innovation and confer increased options for consumers, on roads and online:

“Today’s successful Internet sites face greater competition if we move beyond net neutrality principles. That probably explains why they are net neutrality’s strongest advocates. But moving beyond a dumb network is better for customers, sites that find new opportunities and networks.

It should be no surprise that dumb isn’t better. In an innovation-driven economy, restrictions don’t make us better. They hold us back.”

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In light of the upcoming FCC Broadband Workshop: Economic Issues in Broadband Competition, Senior Fellow of American Consumer Institute Dr. Larry Darby shared his perspectives on broadband competition and the economy this week.  Dr. Darby is not only a scholar with ACI, but also a trusted advisor to the technology sector, a former FCC bureau chief and a long time demand-side economist.

Dr. Darby began by stating that although the FCC maintains that there is not enough competition in the broadband space, this does not, in fact, translate into market power for broadband providers.  He believes that our growing wireless networks (3G, 4G, etc.) are leading to substantial competition and that the main constraint for wireless is in government, not the marketplace.

Particularly if the goal of the FCC is to improve entrants into the broadband market, Dr. Darby believes that FCC should not increase regulation.  He believes the best thing the FCC can do is to create a regulatory climate that will lead to an increase in risk capitol in technology and innovation.  Based on Pew data, he also noted that barriers to entry are computer ownership and digital literacy, and so attention should focus on maximizing consumer welfare, and not on broadband supply.

In the Q&A portion of the call, I asked Dr. Darby to share his thoughts on the role of broadband in improving our economy as a whole.  Dr. Darby was grateful for the question, as he believes that the government will need to look beyond traditional fiscal and monetary policy to fix our recession to broadband.  His response:

“The third path for the economy would be to make certain government policies spur growth of sectors that create wealth, income, and productivity – like broadband.  Lots of studies show that investing in broadband will create jobs, a better environment, and more efficiency.  Most [economic] gains in the past can be attributed to the growth of the communications industry.”

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Right off the bat, Nick Sinai, Energy and Environment Director of the National Broadband Taskforce, declared the theme of yesterday afternoon’s FCC workshop to be innovation.  The workshop discussion, Smart Grid, Broadband and Climate Change, indeed followed his pronouncement.

Several companies and government leaders that are working to solve energy, environment and transportation challenges presented their proposed solutions for the best ways to move America into a more energy efficient 21^st century.  Eric Lightner spoke first on behalf of the Department of Energy’s SmartGrid Task Force about his plans for modernizing electricity delivery, followed by Dean Prochaska of NIST on achieving interoperability, and Mark Dudzinski from GE on the benefits of a Smart Grid, all of which could not be achieved with the power of the broadband network.

And what are some of the benefits of a SmartGrid?

• Demand and response optimization
• Delivery optimization
• Reduction in emissions
• More reliable service
• Better grid management
• Better incorporation of renewables

Broadband was the focus of the second half of the workshop, which included speakers Chris Walker of The Climate Group and Colin Buechler of LifeSize Communications, both of whom supported their assertions by teleconferencing in to participate, and thereby using broadband technology to reduce their carbon footprints.

The need for broadband access and adoption for the country to truly enjoy the benefits of the Smart Grid was unanimous among the panelists.  Broadband would enable consumers to better manage their electric bills, lower their costs, and enjoy other energy saving applications.

In fact, one speaker declared lack of broadband adoption to be a double whammy because that household is missing out on two revolutions — the benefits of broadband and the Smart Grid!

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To encourage public dialogue on the development of a national broadband strategy, the FCC launched a blog this week cleverly titled “BlogBand.” With contributors including FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski and Broadband Czar Blair Levin, the blog is already an active dialogue platform. The blog represents a great opportunity to follow the formal and informal thoughts of our government’s broadband leadership. It also presents the opportunity for those who are not able to participate in the FCC’s broadband workshops to still be involved in the discussions.

We at NextGenWeb look forward to participating in this innovative, online conversation. Most of the postings to date cover various aspects of the FCC workshops and emphasize the diverse participation among the many stakeholders in our broadband future. From network engineers to consumers to health care providers, teachers and others who use broadband to improve people’s lives, everyone is encouraged to submit their thoughts.

What will you tell our government about what the broadband future means to you?

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Today, the FCC hosted a panel of experts for the latest workshop in their broadband series, entitled “Building the Fact Base: The State of Broadband Adoption and Utilization.” Each of the following panelists gave a short presentation and then answered questions both from the FCC and the public.

•    Susannah Fox, Associate Director, Digital Strategy, Pew Internet & American Life Project

•    Peter L. Stenberg, Ph.D., Senior Economist, Economic Research Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture

•    Christopher Guttman-McCabe, Vice-President, Regulatory Affairs, CTIA-The Wireless Association

•    Link Hoewing, Vice President of Internet and Technology Policy, Verizon

•    Karen Archer Perry, Director of the Connected Communities Team, Knight Center of Digital Excellence

•    Kate Williams, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign Graduate School of Library and Information Science

The workshop covered a wide range of topics from digital literacy to privacy to generational and demographic differences.  But the bottom line was clear: The primary obstacle to adoption is not access, but understanding value.

Pew Internet is considered one of the best sources of data on broadband adoption.  Susannah Fox shared key findings in her presentation including:

•Broadband adoption is up, especially for older Americans, lower income groups, and in rural areas.
•Broadband users value their increased access to health and medical information, civic life and economic opportunities.
•Non-users most often cite factors relating to relevance of the Internet to their lives as reasons for non-adoption.
•Price and availability are lesser issues when it comes to broadband adoption.

Link Hoewing of Verizon shared industry data in his presentation, demonstrating how time spent online has dramatically increased, across generations and technologies.

Overall, panelists agreed that digital literacy is critical to broadband adoption, and adoption is critical to society and democracy.  It is now up to policymakers and communities to develop innovative approaches to help more Americans cross the digital divide.

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Tomorrow the FCC continues its slate of hearings geared toward helping to develop a comprehensive national broadband strategy. Next up is a look at international lessons. We’ve devoted substantial attention here at NextGenWeb to the serious flaws in the OECD’s international broadband rankings. Bottom line: The “analysis” favors tiny nations like Belgium and does little to inform how a country of the vast geography of the U.S. can address the unique challenges we face in achieving universal connectivity.

As the FCC looks abroad for lessons learned in advancing U.S. broadband, we encourage policymakers to take a more expansive view of the current international state of play:

We’ll start with the Technology Policy Institute, where earlier this summer Vice President for Research and Senior Fellow Scott Wallsten discussed findings in his new paper on U.S. broadband. TPI’s analysis should not fall on deaf ears as the FCC looks into the state of U.S. broadband. According to Wallsten’s report, the U.S. is the global leader in broadband infrastructure investment and offers among the least expensive entry-level broadband plans in the world. Leading progress in capacity and reach? Check. Reducing barriers to access? Check. Where can we do better? Stimulating demand among those who still don’t see the benefits of broadband (another major theme here at NextGenWeb).

Also this summer the Phoenix Center released its Broadband Adoption Index (BAI), which measures broadband adoption by country-specific benchmarks. Again, taking into consideration the vast differences between the size and scope of the U.S. marketplace relative to Latvia and Estonia, the Phoenix Center model paints a much more accurate – and positive – picture of how the U.S. is performing relative to its international counterpoints.

As the FCC continues its search for all the ingredients of a national broadband strategy, we hope that they take a hard look at the OECD methodology and take into account the many competing analyses that paint quite a different picture both of where we are today—and most importantly—the velocity with which we are making progress to deliver ever better, faster and more sophisticated broadband to all Americans.
If we want a national broadband strategy that works, then our efforts must start with a clear-eyed understanding of where we stand right now, and what it will take to achieve our forward-looking goals. Stay connected to NextGenWeb for continuing coverage of the FCC hearings and ongoing efforts to craft a successful national broadband strategy.

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Sure U.S. broadband can and should continually improve, but are we really behind the likes of Luxembourg and Belgium? Lots of controversy around global broadband rankings. What’s the true state of play? How can we move forward in a constructive way?

On June 5th, policymakers, Hill staff and experts will convene for a lunch seminar in the Capitol Visitors Center featuring Ambassador David Gross, former U.S. Coordinator for International Communications and Information Policy at the U.S. Department of State. Ambassador Gross, one of the world’s foremost experts on international broadband policy, will lead the discussion on where the U.S. really ranks in terms broadband deployment and global competitiveness.

His remarks will be followed by reactions and comments by panelists:

• Robert Atkinson, Information Technology & Innovation Foundation
• Link Hoewing, Verizon Communications
• Christopher Guttman-McCabe, CTIA – The Wireless Association

For more information on the event and to RSVP, visit http://www.freestatefoundation.org.

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InternetforEveryone.org is a national initiative working to bring the benefits of broadband to everyone in America. The organizers have made stops in Los Angeles, Durham, and now Washington, DC, for town hall meetings with stakeholders.

Important topics included expanding access and promoting innovation, but one key topic missing was adoption. Lots of attention was paid to the fact that many Americans still don’t have broadband in the home. Overlooked was the reality that millions of these Americans could get broadband today, but choose not to get any Internet. Here’s what these folks told the Pew Internet & American Life Project:

As the coalition continues to seek out solutions, I hope they will take on issues like digital literacy, computer ownership and other barriers to embracing broadband. These challenges can’t be addressed by regulation. It will take a collective commitment in communities across this country. But it’s a commitment we can’t afford to ignore if our shared goal truly is “Internet for everyone.”

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Here at the Tech Policy Summit in Silicon Valley, we had the chance to catch-up with Mobile Future Chairman Jonathan Spalter. After appearing on a panel on spectrum policy for the digital century, Spalter sat down with us to talk about how mobile could fit into a national broadband strategy. Mobile broadband, after all, is the fastest-growing category of broadband adoption in the United States today. Who’s driving the growth? Is mobile uniquely positioned to help us overcome barriers to adoption? The answers might just surprise you—and certainly illuminate the conversation about a constructive path forward. Check out our interview.

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Terrific conversation today with Geoff Daily, Editor of App-rising, coordinator of the broadband policy conversations that kicked off this year’s Tech Policy Summit and co-chair of the implementation working group for the U.S. Broadband Coalition. Amid some discordant conversations here at the summit, Daily is advocating that different interests come to the table and talk to each other versus over one another. How’s it going at the U.S. Broadband Coalition? Can the various stakeholders come together? Check out our conversation below.

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