Author: admin

In late 2006, following a decision by the Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit in American Council on Education v. FCC, broadband service providers nationwide were suddenly presented with a new and extensive federal mandate. Under the Communications Assistance for Law Enforcement Act of 1994 (CALEA), by May 14, 2007 facilities-based broadband and VoIP service providers were to ensure that their networks are technically capable of providing certain surveillance capabilities to law enforcement, potentially at great expense, or face the prospect of incurring a fine of up to $10,000 per day. Over the intervening months, those service providers who were aware of the new requirements have expended substantial resources simply to determine how and whether to comply, in addition to the direct expense of any technical solution they may be compelled to implement.

In October 2006 and January 2007, Casey Lide and I wrote two articles arguing that the United States should promptly develop a national broadband strategy, as the other leading nations are doing.1 In the first article, we focused on America’s pressing need for rapid deployment of high-capacity next generation networks, and in the second article we proposed an ambitious 8-step plan to make national broadband planning a reality. Since then, a large and growing number of organizations and individuals have voiced support for a national broadband strategy, and a small but vocal opposition has emerged. This paper summarizes the main arguments on both sides and shows that the opponents are wrong on multiple levels.

• APPA: “CALEA Compliance” (September 2008)
• APPA: “In Search of a National Broadband Strategy” (June 2008)
• APPA: “State Broadband Battles” (September 2006)
• APPA: “Financing Community Broadband” (November 2005)