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The Honolulu Advertiser

Posted on: Sunday, June 1, 2003

COMMENTARY
FCC has broadband revolution on hold

By Bruce Gordon
Prresident of the Retail Markets Group at Verizon

Where is the next Internet revolution we were promised?

The broadband industry and enthusiastic broadband consumers have spent the past few years standing around with dancing shoes on waiting for the deejay to show up. And what a party it is supposed to be: widely available broadband access, with applications that are generations beyond what we now enjoy.

New features will translate science fiction into daily life, and amazing devices will make the desktop PC just one place among dozens in our day where we experience the power of the Internet.

With recent and positive word from the Federal Communications Commission on broadband market regulation, the long-promised party could be imminent.

But while it may be time to start the music, there are reasons to hold off on the champagne. For one, we're still waiting for clear rules from the FCC.

In February, the FCC delivered a preview of its new broadband regulations.

An official version of the rules will mark the beginning of the broadband revolution. By putting a nationwide broadband policy framework in place, the FCC can move on to make other pressing broadband regulatory decisions — clearing away some of the barriers that have held back the broadband build-out, stifled competition and limited consumer choice.

But nearly three months have passed since the FCC preview with no final written decision. And this decision is just part of the puzzle.

The FCC has several other proceedings pending that must be decided to establish a coherent broadband policy, and the date for a decision in those other proceedings appears to have slipped to the summer.

Until the FCC finishes the job, consumers, the technology and telecom industries, and the U.S. economy are on hold.

Simply put: The public wants the benefit of high-speed Internet access, but the economics aren't right until the FCC swings open the door to this new playing field and the additional reforms that will follow.

When the FCC finally lays that cornerstone for the market, wide-ranging advances toward new services will accelerate.

Yet despite a lack of the official "rules of the game," the broadband industry is pushing ahead as vigorously as possible, creating next-generation services for consumers who are awaiting them.

How about midtown, downtown and other neighborhoods across New York City becoming a wireless network?

At Verizon, we have just announced an initiative to enable Internet subscribers to log on using their laptops, pocket computers or Palm Pilots from hot spots in the city.

No wires, no plugs, no cables and no fee.

That's the kind of leap forward that will create millions of new broadband users, drive innovations and productivity, and make the Internet a seamless part of daily life.

We're also working to knock down barriers to consumer access by lowering the price of broadband. At the same time, we're nearly doubling access speeds and rolling out broadband, making it available to 10 million additional homes so that more people across the country can make the move to the high-speed Internet.

That's progress, but the FCC must announce clear rules before the revolution can begin. And even with the new rules in place, more work is needed to create a fairer and more reasonable marketplace.

Then will we see the potential of consumer demand and the next generation of hardware, software, network components and consumer equipment.

The industries that have been building the richness of the broadband market have made a lot of progress in a little time.

We have grown from using slow modems and sitting at desktop computers to carrying tiny devices and living Internet-integrated lifestyles.