FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski is trying to push back the Dec. 15 meeting to the 21st or 22nd, agency officials said Friday. That gives him an extra week to decide whether to schedule a vote on net neutrality rules, likely including provisions in legislation introduced by Rep. Henry Waxman, D-Calif., plus wireless. Meanwhile, Congressional Republicans took off their gloves and signaled they're ready for a fight should Genachowski push forward with net neutrality rules.
African-Americans and Hispanics are still less likely to use broadband Internet in their homes even when they attain the same education and income levels as whites, a government report said. Nearly 87 percent of urban and nearly 76 percent of rural, college-educated white families used broadband in their homes in 2009. But for black families with the same education, the percentages were about 77 percent in cities and 56 percent in the countryside; for college-educated Hispanics, the percentages were almost 78 percent in cities and about 69 percent in the country, the Commerce Department said in a report released Monday.
African-Americans and Hispanics are still less likely to use broadband Internet in their homes even when they attain the same education and income levels as whites, a government report said. Nearly 87 percent of urban and nearly 76 percent of rural, college-educated white families used broadband in their homes in 2009. But for black families with the same education, the percentages were about 77 percent in cities and 56 percent in the countryside; for college-educated Hispanics, the percentages were almost 78 percent in cities and about 69 percent in the country, the Commerce Department said in a report released Monday.
A GOP wave claimed longtime telecom heavyweight Rep. Rick Boucher, D-Va., and other Democrats in rural states, as Republicans seized control of the House Tuesday. The Republicans also won seats in the Senate, but the Democrats maintained power there. The GOP gain is seen as bad news for net neutrality supporters, while the loss of House Communications Subcommittee Chairman Boucher is a setback for rural telcos who supported his efforts to overhaul the Universal Service Fund.
FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski faces tough oversight from the new Congress starting in January, after Republicans picked up as many as 70 seats in the House Tuesday. That was more than the 55-seat swing that gave Republicans control of the House in 1994. But it’s unclear whether Genachowski will face the kind of Commerce Committee investigation Kevin Martin faced when Republicans lost control of the House four years ago (CD Sept 14 p1). The Republican takeover of the House also could have a long-lasting effect on FCC policy, particularly Genachowski proposals on net neutrality and broadband reclassification. Genachowski was an adviser to former Chairman Reed Hundt when Democrats lost control of both the House and Senate in 1994.
A GOP wave claimed longtime telecom heavyweight Rep. Rick Boucher, D-Va., and other Democrats in rural states, as Republicans seized control of the House Tuesday. The Republicans also won seats in the Senate, but the Democrats maintained power there. The GOP gain is seen as bad news for net neutrality supporters, while the loss of House Communications Subcommittee Chairman Boucher is a setback for rural telcos who supported his efforts to overhaul the Universal Service Fund.
The FCC should be “vigilant” in its oversight of middle-mile prices and access, seek public comment on whether its rules on retirement of copper-wire networks let ILECs keep small carriers out of the market, consider a rulemaking on access to and device interoperability on the newly auctioned 700 MHz spectrum and “examine the impact” on CLECs before increasing rates on pole attachments, the Small Business Administration’s advocacy office said. The comments came in response to last month’s public notice from the Wireline Bureau, which asked for input on how broadband affects small and medium-sized businesses. SBA said its comments reflect the views of leaders from small broadband companies who participated in an Oct. 5 agency roundtable.
Capitol Hill aides urged patience from those seeking a Telecom Act revamp by Congress. A rewrite will happen, but Congress doesn’t want to rush it, said Danny Sepulveda, senior adviser to Senate Communications Subcommittee Chairman John Kerry, D-Mass. Other priorities next year include wireless spectrum and oversight of the broadband stimulus program, aides told a panel discussion Tuesday by the Free State Foundation.
Capitol Hill aides urged patience from those seeking a Telecom Act revamp by Congress. A rewrite will happen, but Congress doesn’t want to rush it, said Danny Sepulveda, senior adviser to Senate Communications Subcommittee Chairman John Kerry, D-Mass. Other priorities next year include wireless spectrum and oversight of the broadband stimulus program, aides told a panel discussion Tuesday by the Free State Foundation.
Free Press didn’t support the House net neutrality proposal that Republicans scuttled Wednesday (CD Sept 30 p1), President Josh Silver said in an interview. The public interest group believed that “introduction risked relieving the FCC chairman” of his duty to reclassify broadband transport under Title II of the Communications Act, and to make net neutrality rules, Silver said. Free Press is “relieved” that House Commerce Committee Chairman Henry Waxman, D-Calif., now is urging the FCC to act, he said. If FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski doesn’t fulfill Waxman’s request, “he will face an avalanche of public pressure.” In an e-mail to the Open Internet Coalition (OIC) before Wednesday’s announcement that no bill would be introduced, Silver threatened to pull out of the coalition if it issued a news release supporting the Waxman bill. “Free Press cannot afford to be misconstrued as supporting a bill that strips FCC rulemaking authority, fails to sufficiently protect wireless, and forecloses the agency’s ability to enact key goals” of the National Broadband Plan, “such as USF and low-income broadband deployment,” Silver wrote. “While we have deep respect for all of those from our community who worked tirelessly over the past few weeks on this effort, we have a strong disagreement with the assessment of this legislation as a positive, both on the merits and on the strategy. I don’t think the benefits of an OIC” news conference “in support of a doomed bill is worth the cost, but that’s not my call.” In a statement Wednesday, Waxman thanked the Consumer Federation of America (CFA), Consumers Union, Public Knowledge and the Center for Democracy & Technology, as well as AT&T, Verizon and NCTA, but not Free Press. The CFA praised the Waxman proposal. “Mr. Waxman’s bill would have created an important safety net to prevent the broadband Internet access landscape from being Balkanized by anti competitive pay walls and discriminatory technology barriers that block or degrade communications,” said Mark Cooper, the group’s research director.