Klobuchar/Warner Open Access Conduit Bill Introduced: Vacuous, but Malleable (I Hope).

I've been working with Senator Klobuchar's office to draft up an open access fiber bill and, after a couple month's work, got the message that Klobuchar and and Mark Warner were finally introducing their text. Alas, pretty much nothing of the work we'd done on this was in the text -- in fact, it's basically the same text as Eshoo's office introduced -- which is entirely devoid of any meaningful anything.

What a pickle -- the potential for such good sacrificed at the altar of political expedience. Worse than that, it's the potential to claim that an issue has been addressed without actually doing anything meaningful to fix the problem. After talking with staffers, I know that they're getting push-back from those that don't want cheap broadband for the masses, but seriously, we're in the midst of a half-decade long, massive broadband market failure. One need just look at the numbers to see that the US, once #1 in the world of broadband connectivity, has slipped precipitously from this perch.

Of course, the introduction of a bill is only the opening gambit in a far larger political tango. To be fair, the goal is to get something on the table that can then be marked up. My concern is that when you open with such a remarkably weak hand, it makes it all the more difficult to affect meaningful change. Hopefully, this doesn't become a situation whereby a few elected officials grab the public spotlight for a few news cycles but don't actually plan to carry out any of the hard political lift that productive reform requires.

For now, I'm cautiously optimistic -- here's the press release we just put out on the topic:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

New America Foundation Applauds Klobuchar, Warner Fiber Conduit Legislation for Broadband Superhighway

Legislation Will Link Conduit Deployment with Federally-funded Transportation Projects

Washington, D.C. June 15, 2009 -- U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar announced today that she will introduce legislation with U.S. Senator Mark Warner (D-VA) to promote more rapid, cost-effective expansion across the country of broadband networks that carry high-speed, high-capacity communications.

The "Broadband Conduit Deployment Act of 2009" would require the integration of underground fiber conduit into the construction and reconstruction of our nation's transportation infrastructure by requiring the installation of broadband conduit as part of any federally-funded transportation project.

The New America Foundation applauds this forward-thinking legislation.

"As the nation looks to develop a national broadband plan to move the U.S. ahead, it is critical that we look for innovative and efficient ways to bring broadband into communities across the country," said Benjamin Lennett, Policy Analyst for the New America Foundation's Open Technology Initiative and Wireless Future Program. "In linking an essential component of broadband deployment with the ongoing construction and repair of transportation systems (e.g. highways, roads, bridges, tunnels, and railways), the U.S. can start 'baking broadband' into our nationwide infrastructure investments, much as we do for essential utilities such as water and electricity, rather than view it as a distinctly separate endeavor."

The legislation draws inspiration from a proposal put out by the New America Foundation's Wireless Future Program and Open Technology Initiative in January 2009. "Building a 21st Century Broadband Superhighway," calls for earmarking $1.2 to $3.6 billion in the 2009 Omnibus Transportation Bill to mandate and fund the build-out of open access, conduit and fiber-optic infrastructure into the construction, resurfacing and upgrading of our nation's highway system. The New America plan contains seven key elements:

1. Fiber bundles of between 144 and 288 strands laid in an easily accessed ductwork and conduit system;
2. Fiber links should have easily accessible interconnection points that allow providers access on a non-discriminatory basis;
3. Common carriage and wholesale access on these network links;
4. AUP-free use of these fiber assets and any additional links necessary to reach an open interconnection point;
5. Access to any and all entities seeking to offer data services, both for-profit and nonprofit, including municipalities;
6. An accurate assessment and mapping the build-out process and functionality; and,
7. A revenue-sharing agreement wherein users contribute to a "Digital Excellence Fund" to support continuing fiber build-outs and provide funding for digital literacy and educational programs to increase broadband adoption.

"Senators Amy Klobuchar and Mark Warner are leading the charge to bring universal, affordable broadband access to underserved communities throughout the United States," stated Sascha Meinrath, Director of New America Foundation's Open Technology Initiative. "The onus is now upon the rest of us to support the implementation of broadband best practices and ensure that good ideas are not sacrificed to political expedience."

A clear obstacle to bringing high-speed broadband to rural areas and promoting increased broadband competition is access to the underlying fiber-optic infrastructures that connect local broadband networks to the Internet. The vast majority of the cost associated with bringing high-speed fiber deep into rural communities and promoting alternatives fiber links along public rights-of-way is associated with digging-up and repairing the road to install the buried fiber. Among the key goals of the Klobuchar/Warner legislation is to spur the build-out of that essential broadband infrastructure by reducing the largest deployment cost, thereby offering a cost-efficient means to promote the deployment of fiber into communities across the country.

"The Klobuchar and Warner bill begs the question, 'If so much can be done with such modest support, why hasn't the United States invested adequately in such a critically important resource?" said Meinrath. "After a half-decade of broadband stagnation, the United States now has an opportunity to catch up and implement a truly innovative proposal."

To download a copy of NAF's paper on the subject, visit http://www.newamerica.net/publications/policy/building_21st_century_broadband_superhighway.

For media requests, please contact Kate Brown, Media Relations Manager, at 202-596-3365(w) or 202-213-7051(m).

Contacts:
Sascha Meinrath
Director, Open Technology Initiative
meinrath@newamerica.net
(202) 986 - 2700

Benjamin Lennett
Policy Analyst, Wireless Future Program and Open Technology Initiative
lennett@newamerica.net
(202) 986 - 2700

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New America's Open Technology Initiative formulates policy and regulatory reforms to support open architectures and open source innovations and facilitates the development and implementation of open technologies and communications networks. For more information, visit, http://www.newamerica.net/programs/oti.

New America's Wireless Future Program develops and advocates policy proposals aimed at achieving universal and affordable wireless broadband access, expanding public access to the airwaves and updating our nation's communications infrastructure in the digital era. For more information, visit http://www.newamerica.net/programs/wireless_future.

About the New America Foundation
The New America Foundation is a nonprofit, nonpartisan public policy institute that invests in new thinkers and new ideas to address the next generation of challenges facing the United States.