Helping the FCC Analyze Broadband Tradeoffs

"People are not approaching this from the perspective of helping us analyze what the trade-offs are" said FCC Broadband Coordinator Blair Levin about public comments to the National Broadband Plan -- per Multichannel News.  

• Industry's comments have attempted to be very focused on helping the FCC understand and appreciate the many explicit trade-offs involved in this very important proceeding.

A recap of the key trade-offs facing the FCC:

• The consensus and momentum behind promoting broadband to all Americans would be endangered by an unnecessary controversy over net neutrality.
• Continued strong private broadband investment and deployment depends on regulators not thwarting the opportunity for a market return on investment.
• Emphasizing economic broadband regulation would mean de-emphasizing broadband competition.
• Emphasizing new open Internet regulation would mean de-emphasizing network reliability and cybersecurity.
• Looking backwards to the past for tomorrow's policy answers means a less forward-looking National Broadband Plan.   
• Emphasizing broadband resale would mean de-emphasizing facilities-based broadband competition and deployment. 
• Promoting economic growth requires not undermining rare growth sectors with unnecessary economic regulation.  
• More economic broadband regulation would mean less smart network innovation.
• Less private broadband investment and deployment would mean more need for scarce Federal funding. 
• Less availability of Federal funding means more focus on unserved areas and broadband adoption.
• Emphasizing broadband speed de-emphasizes broadband mobility.
• Picking industry and technology winners is picking industry and technology losers.

In closing, there are many very clear tradeoffs confronting the FCC that industry has endeavored to analyze for the FCC to date, and that industry will continue to analyze for the FCC in the months ahead.