Government Must Help Put PCs in More Homes, FCC Democrats Say
NEW ORLEANS -- The FCC’s two Democrats think many more homes should have PCs in order to get broadband, and the government has a key role to play, they said at the NCTA show Monday. GOP Commissioner Robert McDowell said more must be done, but he’s wary of government mandates or the creation of an entitlement program. NTIA Acting Administrator Meredith Baker said broadband shouldn’t be regulated.
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The FCC, Congress, the administration and others haven’t taken adequate steps to increase the availability of broadband, FCC Commissioner Michael Copps said. “We haven’t really made it a national commitment” and other countries “are taking us to the cleaners” with higher deployment, he said. “I don’t want to get too happy with where we are.” There’s also a “lack of a commitment” to get additional PCs out, Copps said.
“We absolutely need a national broadband policy,” said Commissioner Jonathan Adelstein. The U.S. should make sure there’s a computer in the home of everyone who wants one, he said, citing South Korea as a model because anyone can get a computer there from a library for about a dollar a month. “Why is it that children in Korea have that advantage,” said Adelstein. “Broadband doesn’t do you any good if you can’t take advantage of it.”
McDowell agrees more must be done but doesn’t want to create an entitlement for Americans to get PCs. By ensuring adequate competition, the commission is on top of the issue, he said. “Competition is no match for regulation. You cannot mandate or regulate innovation.” Baker said a recent Federal Trade Commission report finding the market for broadband to be competitive “still holds” and “competitive markets shouldn’t be regulated.” She hopes Americans will buy PCs with some of the economic stimulus money they're getting from the federal government.
FTC Commissioner Jon Leibowitz said his agency isn’t barred from regulating broadband, because it’s not a common carrier service. But, he said, “government should proceed cautiously” and examine the technology “in a thoughtful manner.” Broadband providers should disclose to consumers what they're getting, he said. Copps wants the FCC to enforce network nondiscrimination principles by handling complaints. “Over time you build up some precedent in case law,” he said.
McDowell agreed the FTC may have some authority over broadband but called the FCC the expert agency. “If the FCC were actually doing its job, I think we would be sufficiently up to the task,” Adelstein said. The government can use tools like tax credits and universal service for broadband without passing laws or issuing rules, McDowell said. “We recognize that broadband has a critical role to play in the economy, and the only way to get that deployed is to work with the private sector.”