Archive for February, 2011

The government’s recent release of a national broadband map intensifies our collective focus on bringing broadband services to all consumers, and improving broadband adoption among those who already have some access.

One of the challenges that policymakers have faced in trying to bring broadband to every American has been the lack of a national map or database identifying the specific areas that don’t yet have broadband available.  With no definitive data identifying unserved areas, federal agencies have wasted money on subsidies in areas where consumers are already served by broadband providers operating without a government subsidy.

The Cable Show 2011 Call for Speakers for our Management Sessions will close this Friday, February 18th. We are collecting speaker and subject proposals for the upcoming Cable Show 2011, held in Chicago from June 14-16.

On Thursday, a House Energy and Commerce subcommittee will hold an oversight hearing on the Recovery Act’s broadband stimulus funding program. The purpose is outlined in this article from the National Journal’s Tech Daily Dose: The Communications and Internet Subcommittee will examine how well the administration did in allocating the $7.2 billion included in the 2009 economic stimulus package for broadband.

Tomorrow, the FCC will at long last begin action to transform the existing inefficient and outdated system of universal service subsidies. The need for fundamental reform of these subsidy mechanisms is beyond dispute.

We’ve already seen media coverage this week with headlines like “Web Running Out of Addresses.” If you’ve read reports like these, you’re aware of the Internet’s transition to a new set of IP addresses which will continue to connect the massive number of new computers, mobile phones and countless other gadgets.