Role of States and Network Neutrality discussed at broadband roundtable

The fifth of six broadband stimulus roundtables was held in Washington DC on Monday, March 23 and the role of the states, broadband mapping and network neutrality were the topics of discussion.

The general consensus was that states should have a significant - if not integral role - in advising the NTIA and RUS on project awards.

NARUC General Counsel Brad Ramsey argued that states should be advisers and monitors in the process of project selection, allowing them to rank proposed projects that would be carried out in their state.

David Parkhurst of the National Governors Association said that governors should review and provide comments on the grant applications to the NTIA and RUS who will make the final rulings on who is receiving money.

Diana Bob, a representative of the National Council of American Indians, pointed out that American Indian tribes are sovereign nations and  as such state reviews all too frequently overlook them. Therefore additional measures need to be taken so that American Indians do not get cut out of economic stimulus money.

Congress instructed the NTIA to establish "nondiscrimination and interconnection" obligations of grant recipients, including, at a minimum, adherence to the FCC's Open Internet principles. Speakers debated how to define that obligation in a manner that would not deter investment.

Several speakers - Ben Scott of Free Press and Gigi Sohn of Public Knowledge - argued that nondiscrimination means that broadband providers shall not degrade, prioritize or favor any application, service, or content on the network, subject to reasonable network management. This needs to be stated clearly in the grant rules, they urged.

Others argued that the FCC's Open Internet principles that formed the basis of the FCC's case against Comcast for blocking peer-to-peer traffic are working to protect an open Internet. Broadband providers warned that it doesn't make sense to resolve this virulent debate at a time in which the primary goal is  to infuse allocated stimulus money back into the economy and create new jobs.
 
As Jonathan Banks, the senior vice president for law and policy at USTelecom, said:

"The operating costs of maintaining these networks and providing broadband in these areas are very, very high. Additional costs and additional risk are  not helpful to getting broadband out to these, the most difficult areas to serve in the country."

The NTIA will accept online comments from the public about the grant award process until April 13.

If you missed any of the broadband roundtables and would like to read the transcripts, NTIA has made them available.

States want NTIA and RUS to 'Outsource' Broadband Stimulus Grant-Vetting (Broadband Census)

Online Comment Form (NTIA)

NTIA Broadband Technology Opportunities Program (NTIA)