The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) released its National Broadband Plan to Congress, a blueprint for how U.S. regulators will provide broadband internet access to the roughly 100 million Americans that don’t currently have access to it. The national broadband plan was mandated by the Recovery Act, which provided $7.2 billion for broadband access in rural and underserved areas.

The plan states Government can influence the broadband ecosystem in four ways:

1.      Design policies to ensure robust competition and, as a result maximize consumer welfare, innovation and investment.

2.      Ensure efficient allocation and management of assets government controls or influences, such as spectrum, poles, and rights-of-way, to encourage network upgrades and competitive entry.

3.      Reform current universal service mechanisms to support deployment of broadband and voice in high-cost areas; and ensure that low-income Americans can afford broadband; and in addition, support efforts to boost adoption and utilization.

4.      Reform laws, policies, standards and incentives to maximize the benefits of broadband in sectors government influences significantly, such as public education, health care and government operations.

In addition to the recommendations above, the plan recommends that the country adopt and track the following six goals to serve as a compass over the next decade.

·         Goal No. 1: At least 100 million U.S. homes should have affordable access to actual download speeds of at least 100 megabits per second and actual upload speeds of at least 50 megabits per second.

·         Goal No. 2: The United States should lead the world in mobile innovation, with the fastest and most extensive wireless networks of any nation.

·         Goal No. 3: Every American should have affordable access to robust broadband service, and the means and skills to subscribe if they so choose.

·         Goal No. 4: Every American community should have affordable access to at least 1 gigabit per second broadband service to anchor institutions such as schools, hospitals and government buildings.

·         Goal No. 5: To ensure the safety of the American people, every first responder should have access to a nationwide, wireless, interoperable broadband public safety network.

·         Goal No. 6: To ensure that America leads in the clean energy economy, every American should be able to use broadband to track and manage their real-time energy consumption.

Half of the recommendations in this plan are offered to the FCC. To begin implementation, the FCC will:

ü  Quickly publish a timetable of proceedings to implement plan recommendations within its authority.

ü  Publish an evaluation of plan progress and effectiveness as part of its annual 706 Advanced Services Inquiry.

ü  Create a Broadband Data Depository as a public resource for broadband information.

The re
maining half of the recommendations in the plan are offered to the Executive Branch, Congress and state and local governments.

To see the plan in its entirety, please visit: http://download.broadband.gov/plan/national-broadband-plan.pdf