November 2014

The Assistant Secretary and the Chairman applauded the agencies’ joint efforts to identify and make available spectrum previously allocated to federal use. Years of hard effort paved the way for the AWS-3 auction, in which 70 applicants qualified to bid, and ongoing bidding appears to signal considerable commercial interest in this spectrum. NTIA and the FCC continue to work collaboratively to make additional spectrum available for wireless broadband services and devices while protecting critical federal government missions. We discussed our progress to date in meeting our collective spectrum goals. We also committed to continue our productive joint efforts to make spectrum available in the 3.5 GHz and 5 GHz bands, in addition to studying new candidate bands with a focus on spectrum sharing between federal and non-federal users.

The hard truth is there is a digital divide that particularly impacts rural America. Americans living in urban areas are three times more likely to have access to Next Generation broadband than Americans in rural areas. An estimated 15 million Americans, primarily in rural communities, don’t even have access to entry-level broadband in their homes. Forty-one percent of American’s rural schools couldn’t get a high-speed connection if they tried. The FCC can play an important role in bridging these gaps, and I’m circulating two items that will expand access to robust broadband across rural America.

One proposal would close the digital divide in rural schools and libraries by modernizing the FCC’s E-rate program. My proposal includes targeted updates to E-rate rules to help defray the high costs rural libraries and schools face in achieving high-speed Internet connectivity, particularly the one-time infrastructure upgrade costs that many simply can’t afford today. For many low-income schools and libraries the challenge is one of affordability, so my proposal also includes rule changes designed to increase the number of competitive options to these schools and libraries to ensure they have access to the most cost-effective solutions.

I am also circulating an Order to move the Connect America Fund forward to get communities the connectivity they need to stay competitive in the digital world. My proposal would bring the minimum broadband speed for receiving USF support to 10 Mbps for downloads, from 4 Mbps – the first adjustment since 2011. We need to make sure rural consumers have the service they need to support modern applications and uses as we expand networks to the 15 million unserved rural Americans. And it’s time to move forward to implement Phase II of the Connect America Fund.

Right now, followers of the network neutrality debate really want to know two things. First, when will the Federal Communications Commission unveil its new rules? And second, how aggressive will they be? FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler is refusing to be tied down on either count. But on Nov 21, Chairman Wheeler hinted that he knows the stakes.

"Look, the big dogs are going to sue, regardless of what comes out," he told reporters, referring to the large Internet service providers who have threatened to challenge any strong rules by the agency in court. "We need to make sure that we have sustainable rules." He added, "I want to move forward on open Internet rules with dispatch. I also want to have open Internet rules that are sustained. And that's the process we're going through."

He evidently believes there will be no compromising with the broadband providers, and nothing the FCC does will prevent a legal challenge. Does this mean Chairman Wheeler is growing less convinced of his middle-ground strategy?

A number of civil rights organizations and diversity groups overwhelmingly back a proposal that would lightly regulate broadband providers. But other groups representing minorities as well as consumer advocates and other public interest groups want to make sure that Internet service providers are regulated closely to be sure they don't slow down the traffic speeds of Web sites they don't like or compete against.

The strange juxtaposition can be plainly observed in the letters sent by these groups to the Federal Communications Commission. Nearly 100 organizations, consisting largely of Asian- and Hispanic-American groups, have asked the FCC to aggressively regulate broadband providers such as Time Warner Cable or Verizon. The letter, which is signed by Color of Change, Presente, the National Hispanic Media Coalition and others, asks FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler to start regulating Internet providers under Title II of the Communications Act -- the same step proposed by President Barack Obama recently when he asked the FCC for tougher Internet rules himself.

"The fight for an open Internet is not just about broadband access and corporate investment," the letter reads. "It is also a fight for real representation for the most vulnerable constituencies in the United States." Roughly four dozen minority organizations, many of them representing African-Americans, have opposed aggressive regulations on Internet providers -- mostly on the grounds that stiff rules could discourage broadband companies from upgrading networks in poorer neighborhoods. They also argue that new broadband business models, such as exempting certain Web services from consumers' data caps, helps encourage the adoption of Internet among minorities and the poor. But this practice, known as "zero rating," cuts against the principle of net neutrality because it requires Internet providers to be able to give some Web services, like music apps, priority over others.