Whoa! US telcos and cablecos aren't going to like a study the FCC paid for. It shows that in countries where "an engaged regulator enforced open-access obligations, competitors using these open-access facilities provided an important catalyst for the development of robust competition." Specifically, EU countries force telcos to lease access to their broadband networks at prices the governments' regulators set.
The report says open access leads to more competitive broadband offerings in price and performance.
It said, "The lowest prices and highest speeds are almost always offered by firms in markets where, in addition to an incumbent telephone company and a cable company, there are also competitors who entered the market, and built their presence, through use of open-access facilities."
The Bush administration's FCC did away with open access in 2002 on the basis that open access caused telcos not to invest in faster and more widespread broadband service.
The FCC has been mandated to develop by February 2010 a national broadband strategy for making broadband universally available--and with speeds that consumers will want.
The FCC released a draft of the document this week and asked for public comment. You better believe the telcos, cablecos and their lobbyists will have lots of comments, starting with an unveiled threat to stop building high-speed broadband networks.
The report says other countries are using economic stimulus funds to help get broadband deployed in unserved and underserved areas.
The FCC task force has preliminarily said that upwards of $350 billion in government and/or corporate funds will be needed to provide universal broadband in the States. It would be a combination of wireline and wireless networks.
Most estimates, including the FCC's, show that more that 50% of US residences already have a broadband subscription.
The FCC hired Harvard University's Berkman Center for Internet and Society to prepare the report.
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