WCAI Symposium @ 4G World Wraps Up with FCC Keynote, Policy Summit

Welcome to the third and final day of the WCAI International Symposium @ 4G World!

Today we are going to explore some of the key regulatory and policy issues facing the wireless broadband industry in the United States. Seven months into the implementation of the FCC's National Broadband Plan, we will look at the progress made on meeting the established benchmarks and address such policy issues as network neutrality and new spectrum availability.

Kicking off the WCAI Broadband and Wireless Policy Summit today, FCC officials will deliver a keynote address on unleashing new spectrum for wireless broadband. Phoebe Yang and Julius Knapp of the FCC will discuss the agency's plans and progress toward reaching the goal of making available an additional 500 MHz of spectrum over the next ten years that is suitable for mobile and fixed broadband use.

Moving on, we will hold three regulatory panels that will feature who-is-who in the industry and government, including former FCC Chairman Kevin Martin of Patton Boggs; John Leibovitz of the FCC; Bob Quinn, Hank Hultquist and Joan Marsh of AT&T; Jonathan Snyder of KeyOn and Joseph Sandri of FiberTower. The sessions will be moderated by reporters from Politico and TR Daily and an analyst from Medley Global Advisors.

We hope you'll enjoy today's program and look forward to the day filled with dynamic discussions, new information and networking opportunities!

Missed the WCAI Summer Summit This Year? Check Out the Highlights on YouTube!

WCAI posted several videos online highlighting some of the major presentations from our recent Summer Summit. Visit the WCAI page on YouTube to hear Clearwire Executive Vice President Gerry Salemme discuss Clearwire's 4G deployment plans, the types of devices he expects to be most popular with 4G networks, data consumption issues, Clearwire's retail and wholesale presence in the 4G marketplace, and the FCC National Broadband Plan. You will also see Bill Payne, VP & Chief Technology Officer at Motorola Networks, speak about major WiMAX migration paths for operators to consider in 2010 and beyond, and Phoebe Yang, General Counsel, Omnibus Broadband Initiative at the FCC, discuss innovation and opportunities presented by the National Broadband Plan. Watch Videos Now!

WCAI Summer Summit Kicks Off in DC

The WCAI’s Summer Summit kicked off today with a presentation on the National Broadband Plan by Phoebe Yang, General Counsel, Omnibus Broadband Initiative at the FCC. Ms. Yang addressed the packed room of industry representatives from across the U.S. and internationally who gathered in Herndon, VA this morning to hear about the innovation and opportunities presented by the plan.

Ahead is the day packed with informative panel discussions and networking opportunities. Among the topics that will be addressed are operational best practices and WiMAX migration paths toward 802.16m and TD-LTE. The day will wrap up with a networking happy hour and dinner at Jackson’s restaurant. So if you are in DC area, don’t wait, come join us for a productive day of networking and business development. More details are here:

WCAI Summer Summit: Learn, Network, Prosper!

The WCAI Summer Summit is less than two weeks away and we hope that you are just as excited as we are about all the perks that we filled the two-day program with. The event’s highlights include an FCC workshop on the National Broadband Plan, a keynote address by Clearwire Executive Vice President Gerry Salemme on what it takes to bring 4G to America, a presentation by Motorola Networks CTO Bill Payne on the WiMAX migration paths to 802.16m or TD-LTE, and a discussion of operator best practices for 4G networks. But that’s not all…

Did you ever want to take a peek at how industry leaders in the 4G marketplace run their operations? Well here is your opportunity! WCAI members Clearwire and DigitalBridge will be opening doors of their 4G lab and network operations center for Summit attendees to tour their facilities. Clearwire will also have a 4G-equipped vehicle onsite to demo its mobile network operation. The DigitalBridge tour will feature DBC’s network management systems, test WiMAX systems, and proprietary network optimization technology. Visitors will be able to see best practices in the following areas: WiMAX network operations and management, device interoperability, and network and subscriber optimization techniques.

There will also be plenty of opportunities for social networking, especially during the reception and dinner at the end of the first day of the event.

And the best part is that the Summit registration is absolutely FREE for WCAI members who register by June 25. After that, the rate goes up to $79. Non-members are also welcome at the event for $79.

The Summit will be held on June 30-July 1 at the NRTC Headquarters, 2121 Cooperative Way, Herndon, VA. See you next week!

The Myth of Broadband “Reclassification”

Hank Hultquist
Vice President Federal Regulatory
AT&T

The D.C. Circuit’s decision to vacate the FCC’s Comcast-BitTorrent order has a lot of people chattering, including a University of Michigan Law School professor, about how the FCC should “reclassify” broadband as a “Title II” service. The belief is that such a move is necessary to either (a) extract the FCC from an “existential crisis,” or (b) free the FCC’s National Broadband Plan from “legal limbo.” The FCC’s top lawyer has fueled the chatter with a blog post, questioning its authority on a variety of issues, in light of the court decision.

I’m not going to bore you with our view of why classifying broadband as Title II is a mistake. Instead, I’m going to bore you with a brief history of broadband classifications and the mythology that has sprung up around them.
Some believe, incorrectly, that broadband Internet access used to live under the watchful eye of a wise and beneficent FCC. In this latter-day Eden, the FCC regulated broadband Internet access as a telecommunications service under Title II. But then the FCC was tempted into taking a bite out of the Title I apple, and pretty soon they had eaten the whole thing.

I can see why some people want to peddle this story and why others might believe it. But the truth is that the FCC has never regulated “broadband Internet access” under Title II. In fact, the FCC has never regulated any type of Internet access under Title II.
What, you ask? How can that be? Everyone knows that the deregulatory Bush Administration spoiled everything when it changed the classification of broadband to an information service under Title I. However, this narrative simply is not true. In fact, it was the Clinton Administration FCC that definitively declined to classify Internet access as a telecommunications service.

When it first looked at this issue back in 1998, the FCC (under then-Chairman Bill Kennard) said that “classifying Internet access services as telecommunications services could have significant consequences for the global development of the Internet. We recognize the unique qualities of the Internet, and do not presume that legacy regulatory frameworks are appropriately applied to it.”

The FCC reached the same conclusions in 2002, 2005, 2006 and 2007 when it likewise classified cable broadband, DSL, powerline broadband and wireless broadband as information services. And when this information service classification was challenged, the FCC defended it all the way to the United States Supreme Court… and won.

If you want a detailed legal explanation of why broadband was never classified as a Title II telecommunications service, read this.

The bottom line is that this idea that broadband Internet access was once in the Eden of Title II, only to have paradise lost by putting it under Title I is revisionist history. The reality is that if the Commission decides to classify any Internet access service as a telecommunications service under Title II, it would be doing so for the first time. And that would be unprecedented.

Backhaul and the National Broadband Plan

by Joseph M. Sandri, Jr., Senior Vice President, Regulatory and Government, FiberTower
Reprinted from Converge! Network Digest

On March 16, 2010, the Federal Communications Commission released the nation’s first ever National Broadband Plan (NBP). One of the key elements addressed in the NBP is backhaul which is generally considered as the transport of voice, video and data traffic from a wireless carrier’s or public safety network’s base station (or cell site) to its mobile switching center (MSC). Backhaul is present in the NBP in some obvious and also subtle ways.

What is the National Broadband Plan (NBP)?

In early 2009, Congress directed the FCC to develop a NBP to restore the U.S. to a global leadership position in telecommunications and to utilize the broadband sector to drive economic development. It includes 198 formal recommendations. Half of the recommendations are offered to the FCC and the remaining half are offered to the Executive Branch, Congress, and state and local governments. The next 2-to-24 months will see a vigorous attempt to implement the recommendations. There are no guarantees that the recommendations will all be implemented.

The FCC will soon publish a timeline of proceedings to implement the plan recommendations within its authority, and related hearings before Congress will include recommended schedules for pursuing the recommendations with the other arms of government.

The 198 NBP recommendations seek specific steps to implement the elements and goals mentioned above, some of which directly address backhaul and middle mile issues. Other recommendations (such as making 500 MHz of spectrum available for mobile networks) create more demand for backhaul. The entire plan can be located at www.broadband.gov .

Backhaul Rides In

The NBP represents a sizeable “shift” toward supporting competition and making day-to-day broadband deployment tasks easier. The FCC repeatedly recognized that an effective NBP must recognize and support the role that backhaul plays in supporting end-user networks.

During the comment period leading to the NBP release, the FCC reviewed thousands of comments, held numerous workshops, and conducted its own hearings and also reported progress to Congress. Pro-backhaul advocacy centered around the following points:

• Re-enforce existing federal preemptions and “shot clocks” to reduce burdensome zoning and permitting restrictions for fixed wireless antenna placements,
  
  
• Establish an enforceable, national policy whose net effect is to remove delays and expense from the fiber deployment and wireless siting process,
  
  
• Make available data or maps about the structures, ducts and conduits available to broadband carriers in order to deploy multiple-use shared access systems that support last mile commercial and government networks,
  
  
• Set aside spectrum specifically designated for wireless backhaul,
  
  
• Reform the Universal Service Fund (USF) funding eligibility policy to shift the emphasis from bringing voice services to rural America, to bringing broadband (including funding eligibility for middle mile deployments), and
  
  
• Put in place the conditions to allow for building a physically-diverse National Emergency Backhaul Network (NEBN) to support multiple public safety, government, carrier-class commercial, and other mission-critical broadband services throughout the United States.

The NBP recommendations support the following policy positions:

1. Re-enforce existing tools to speed wireless deployments

The FCC noted that even prior to the NBP it started moving to “reduce costs by expediting processes and decreasing the risks and complexities that companies face as they deploy broadband network infrastructure.” The FCC “shot clock” ruling offers a prime example for how the FCC plans to use its considerable discretionary powers to “speed the deployment of wireless equipment on towers.” [NBP at page 110.]

2. Build an enforceable, national policy that removes delays and expense from the wireless siting and fiber deployment process

The NBP makes clear that the FCC possesses and will use its statutory authority (§224) over access to conduits, ducts, rights-of-way and poles to improve both the wireless and fiber deployment process. This includes:

Set uniformly low access rates to conduits, ducts, rights-of-way and poles (as regulated by §224 of the Communications Act). [Recommendations 6.1, 6.2.]

Establish a comprehensive timeline for resolving disputes regarding the §224 infrastructure access process. [Recommendation 6.3].

• Currently access disputes can “drag on for months if not years.” The FCC should establish a federal timeline for all forms of communications attachments and for certifying wireless equipment for attachment.

• Awarding compensation that dates from denial of access could encourage swifter dispute resolution.

The NBP notes that due to exemptions written into the current §224, an FCC-created “national policy” would apply to just over one-third of the nation’s poles, ducts, conduits and rights-of-way, since 19 states (including highly populated states) adopted their own systems. Thus the NBP asks Congress to amend or replace §224 to provide the FCC with a truly national set of criteria that includes FCC-set timelines and FCC authority to award damages for non-compliance. [Recommendation 6.5]

3. Make available data or maps about the structures, ducts and conduits available to backhaul carriers

The NBP seeks a Congressional amendment to §224 to provide the FCC authority to “compile and update a comprehensive database of physical infrastructure assets” and to set rules, rates and timelines for their access. [Recommendation 6.5]

4. Specifically designate spectrum for wireless backhaul

The NBP devotes a whole section to “Increasing the Flexibility, Capacity and Cost-Effectiveness of Spectrum for Point-to-Point Wireless Backhaul Services.” Supporting recommendations exist in other areas of the NBP. The FCC is asked to revise its rules to allow for reducing backhaul costs and for increased spectrum sharing among compatible point-to-point microwave services. The NBP notes this could include:

Opening TV “white spaces” spectrum for backhaul in very rural areas.

• Recommendation 5.17 also requests that the FCC proceed with higher powered fixed use for white spaces in tribal lands.

Permitting wider channels in the 6 GHz bands.

Providing faster link activation on additional channels in the 23 GHz band.

Greater special reuse of microwave frequencies, particularly in urban areas.

Modifying minimum throughput rules, particularly in rural areas.

Ease restrictions on antenna size where the economic benefits are clear.

Continue to promote use of higher frequencies where technological innovations make it attractive.

The FCC and the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) are also asked to develop a joint roadmap to identify additional federal and non-federal spectrum that can be made accessible for both mobile and fixed wireless broadband use.

5. Shift Universal Service Fund (USF) availability from voice services to high-capacity broadband networks (including middle mile)

The NBP notes that FY2010 USF disbursements, which exist in four funds, are projected to reach $8.7 Billion and that those funds should be redirected from legacy telephone systems to high-capacity broadband networks.[1] Recommendation 8.2 asks the FCC to create the Connect America Fund (CAF) with funds from the currently $4.6 Billion per year High-Cost program, and that CAF funds should be spent on building and maintaining (i.e., Capex and Opex), “including middle mile,” in areas where no private sector business case provides the needed service.

See also Recommendation 8.8 (p. 148) which asks the FCC to examine middle mile costs and pricing in concert with the comprehensive USF/ICC reform program.

6. Set the conditions for National Emergency Backhaul Network (NEBN)

Recommendation 12.1 seeks for the FCC to establish a rulemaking for network redundancy and resiliency standards for commercial broadband networks (p. 251). Recommendation 16.1 asks Congress for $12-16 billion for the creation of a national public safety broadband network that promotes “sharing federal infrastructure, working with utilities, or use of state and local tower sites” (p.319).

Federal agencies are asked to act as broadband anchor tenants for multiple use networks in unserved or underserved communities. [Recommendation 14.1]. State and local governments expressed a strong desire to share broadband infrastructure with federal agencies. “In response to Section 414 of the Transportation, Treasury, Independent Agencies and General Government Appropriations Act of 2005, the President directed the federal departments and agencies to deploy redundant communications links for all facilities.” P. 284.

7. Expand the GSA Networx contract to allow state and local governments to order backhaul and other services

Recommendation 14.2 asks Congress to “consider allowing state and local government to take advantage of [GSA] Networx and other [federal] communications contracts to enable cost savings and encourage broadband deployment.”

Are there areas of concern in the NBP?

Yes. The FCC was clear that the NBP is always in “beta”, and thus will be constantly tinkered with and its priorities may shift. Also, the NBP may create too much optimism and key recommendations may never be implemented. The pro-backhaul and other related recommendations generally need to be defended and promoted to make them a reality. Other recommendations may cause concern, if implemented improperly.

Overall though, Congress should be commended for requesting the NBP and the FCC deserves substantial credit for putting together this significant, detailed and cohesive plan, and for recognizing the central role that backhaul plays.

WCAI Members Invited to Attend a Webinar on FCC National Broadband Plan

The FCC this month delivered to Congress a massive, 360-page-long National Broadband Plan setting a U.S. broadband agenda for the next decade and beyond. The Plan outlines dozens of policy recommendations to achieve the ambitious goals of extending low-cost, high-speed Internet service to all Americans by 2020 and transforming the U.S. into a world leader in mobile broadband use and innovation. Mandated by last year's stimulus legislation, the Plan is widely expected to set the FCC's agenda for years to come.

Join the WCAI members-only virtual meeting on Thursday, April 1, 2010 at 2pm EDT and learn from Paul Sinderbrand, WCAI Counsel and a partner at Wilkinson Barker Knauer, LLP, what this Plan means for the wireless broadband industry in general and for your business in particular.

This event is organized by the WCAI's Emerging Markets Committee and is open to WCAI members only. Register Now!

National Broadband Plan, Chapter 12: How do we get utilities into the spectrum business?

By Clyde Ensslin, Advisor to greentech startup People Power Co
clyde.ensslin@peoplepowerco.com

I went over to the Federal Communications Commission this morning for the official release of the National Broadband Plan that FCC has been working on since last year. Various pieces of the Plan have been disclosed over the past few days so I knew that it was going to address the Smart Energy Grid and I wanted to learn more about the details related to that. For the past year I’ve been advising a Palo Alto, California-based greentech startup called People Power, so I am familiar with the work NIST is doing to approve interoperative standards for smart grid equipment.

When I got to the Commission I was directed to an overflow room because the meeting room was packed. There was a very nice, large, high definition flat-screen TV in the overflow room and I saw presentations by the staff and heard statements by the Commissioners. I learned that Congress had asked the Commission, in the statute that spelled out what should be in the Plan, for recommendations that would not only lead to broadband access for more Americans, but also would help reach National Purposes including energy independence and energy efficiency.

I knew that energy efficiency among consumers was the Plan’s Long-Term Goal #6 because that was in the Executive Summary that had been posted yesterday to the FCC Website. That goal states that all Americans should be able to use broadband to track and manage their energy consumption. The remaining parts of the Plan addressing the Smart Energy Grid were in Chapter 12, which was so interesting that I printed up all 15 pages.

Essentially, Chapter 12 is full of ideas about how to get utilities to interact with their customers via broadband. Idea number one is for utilities to give their consumers something valuable that they don’t get today that can only be delivered by broadband. That would be real-time usage data, based in kilowatts and in dollars, which is obviously hugely valuable, but it’s also data that 99 percent of all utility customers have never seen. This requirement would mean that utilities would need to provide the same information that they now mail out once a month, only more frequently, like every five minutes.

What motivation would the utilities have to start doing this within the next 18 months? Well, maybe if their state regulators asked them to do it. That’s what the Plan suggests. It’s not too big a stretch in states like California, where the state legislature has already mandated access for consumers to that data. And if the state regulators don’t get the job done, FCC will ask Congress to legislate that solution. The logic is, and this makes perfect sense, if utilities give this data to their customers, the customers will appreciate it so much that they will do their part and acquire the devices they need to interact with their utility. For startups like People Power, that is great news. It will mean that innovation is rewarded by investment dollars and potential partnerships.

Other ideas in the Plan have a variety of other ways for the utilities to get in the broadband business, including: empowering them to manage their own private broadband networks, either by using commercial networks, by sharing public safety mobile spectrum, or maybe with spectrum leased from, or bought at auction from…who? Maybe broadcasters? That’s in another chapter. I didn’t get to that part.

WCAI Recommends FCC Establish a Pervasive Computing Test Bed

The Internet today is broadband, mobility, and social networking. The Internet of the future will be pervasive computing with access to broadband everywhere. WCAI today asked the FCC to make the transition to pervasive computing environment a primary goal of the nation’s broadband plan.

To achieve this goal, WCAI recommends that the FCC’s national broadband plan establish a city-wide computing test bed to enable experimental research in pervasive computing. The alternative is to risk falling behind nations like Korea, who are developing large-scale pervasive computing test beds today. A city-wide test bed in the United States would spur the development of pervasive computing by providing a locus for collaboration between researches, industry, and government – all of whom will likely be necessary to evolve our current computing paradigm to pervasive computing and reestablish America’s leadership in information technology.

Pervasive computing turns anything in our environment, including the human body, into a networked resource. Information is being generated everywhere, all the time, but usually without a means of collecting and using it. With pervasive computing enabled by ubiquitous wireless networks, this information can be collected and disseminated in real-time seamlessly and unobtrusively. Such capabilities will be essential to supporting the various purposes envisioned by the national broadband plan, including health case, energy, and education.

As WCAI noted in its initial comments in the national broadband plan proceeding, pervasive computing capabilities have been largely unprecedented in the broadband policy debate. This should change if the United States is to be at the forefront of broadband and computing. Developing a large-scale pervasive computing test bed would help ensure that the United States accomplishes those goals.

FCC Official Urges WCAI Conference Attendees to Weigh In on Issues

Bruce Gottlieb, chief counsel and senior legal adviser to FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski, was the opening keynote speaker at the WCAI’s Annual International Symposium at 4G World Sept. 15 in Chicago. Addressing WCAI members and others in the wireless broadband industry, he said in the converged communications landscape, the FCC needs input from a wide variety of parties in order to make the best decisions on wireless issues, according to TR Daily coverage. “The bottom line is simple: The FCC is not hearing from the growing universe of companies in wireless, and as the wireless world expands, so must the FCC’s thinking about wireless.” He compared WCAI conference participants with parties that filed comments in last year’s wireless competition proceeding, noting that most of the latter were carriers and trade organizations. He urged input from a variety of stakeholders, as the FCC works to craft a national broadband plan by a statutory deadline of next February, as well as in its wireless innovation, wireless competition, and consumer disclosure proceedings. He said “one focus of the Commission’s attention will be looking at spectrum availability, and considering ways to ensure that all spectrum bands are being put to their highest and best use.”

FCC Chief Counsel Bruce Gottlieb to Keynote WCAI Symposium

It’s with great pleasure that we announced today that Bruce Gottlieb, FCC Chief Counsel and Senior Legal Advisor to Chairman Julius Genachowski, will kick off the WCAI’s Annual International Symposium with an opening keynote address on September 15, 2009 at McCormick Place in Chicago, IL.

I had the privilege of working with Bruce at the FCC for many years. (If I were still a Bureau Chief at the FCC, I’d be working for him.) Bruce now manages the Commission’s overall agenda and has responsibility for policy coordination among all of the FCC’s Bureaus, with particular responsibility for wireless, engineering and technology, and public safety issues.

FCC Chairman Genachowski has demonstrated a commitment to wireless broadband very early in his tenure through new initiatives addressing wireless innovation and competition issues. In this keynote presentation, Bruce, the Chairman’s Chief Counsel, will discuss the Chairman’s priorities for wireless broadband in the coming year and the role of wireless broadband in the National Broadband Plan.

We at WCAI look forward to Bruce’s presentation and invite everyone in the industry to join us for this important regulatory update.

WCAI Congratulates Julius Genachowski, Robert McDowell and Lawrence Strickling on Confirmation to FCC, NTIA

Last night, the Senate voted to confirm Julius Genachowski as FCC Chairman, Robert McDowell as an FCC Commissioner, and Lawrence Strickling as NTIA Administrator. On behalf of the wireless broadband industry, I want to congratulate Chairman Genachowski, Commissioner McDowell and Assistant Secretary Strickling on their confirmations to serve on the FCC and at NTIA. These confirmations come at a critical time, when the FCC is crafting a national broadband plan for our future, and NTIA is poised to disburse $4.7 billion in broadband stimulus funds to bring additional broadband services to America.

The confirmation of Chairman Genachowski is great news for both the industry and users of wireless broadband services. His proven record of success in both public policy and business development is a harbinger of great things to come at the FCC.

A strong advocate for supporting competition in the marketplace, Commissioner McDowell has been a long-time friend of the wireless broadband industry. His deep knowledge and significant experience in the communications industry will continue to serve the FCC well during his second term.

A leader in the communications sector with deep knowledge of the industry and extensive experience in public policy and business development, Assistant Secretary Strickling is an excellent choice to head NTIA as it works to promote innovation, create jobs and achieve universal broadband access in the United States through the broadband stimulus program.

We at WCAI look forward to working with Chairman Genachowski, Commissioner McDowell and Assistant Secretary Strickling to promote innovative wireless broadband services and achieve universal wireless broadband access in the United States.

WCAI Files Comments on CMRS Market Competition

Today WCAI submitted comments with the FCC urging the Commission to use more granularity regarding networks operating in unlicensed and “hybrid” (3.65 GHz) spectrum bands when analyzing effective competition in the CMRS market for its annual report. “Coverage maps depicting unlicensed network deployment are essential to understanding wireless deployment and informing the spectrum allocation debate that is currently occurring in the context of the national broadband plan proceeding,” the filing said. “With increasing convergence between licensed and unlicensed networks, and calls for even more unlicensed spectrum allocations, now is the time for the Commission to include such data in the CMRS Competition Report.” WCAI also urged FCC to make significantly more spectrum available for mobile broadband use. The limited amount of 425 MHz available today for mobile broadband would not support even three mobile broadband service providers using 150 MHz of spectrum each to adequately meet consumer needs. Finally, WCAI said the Commission should attempt to quantify the degree to which mobile broadband may be a substitute for wireline broadband to understand whether consumer preference for mobility is affecting intermodal broadband competition.

WCAI Urges FCC to Make Mobility Cornerstone of America’s Broadband Plan

WCAI today submitted comments with the FCC in response to the Commission’s Notice of Inquiry on a National Broadband Plan for Our Future.

Universal next-generation mobile wireless broadband network deployment and adoption must be the cornerstone of America’s broadband plan. Mobile wireless broadband is a prerequisite to the coming paradigm shift in computing and the key to reestablishing American leadership in information technology.

The majority of consumers value mobility more highly than static broadband access at home. Mobile wireless broadband networks offer excellent throughput and mobility, and are approximately 20 times less expensive to deploy in rural areas than fiber networks. When the rest of the world is leapfrogging the limitations of static broadband connections, and moving directly to a ubiquitous mobile broadband environment, planning for an “improved” version of the existing broadband paradigm will doom America’s broadband plan to failure.

To realize the tremendous benefits of universal deployment and adoption of next-generation mobile wireless broadband, WCAI recommends that America’s broadband plan reform universal service policies with a broadband paradigm as the lodestar, assure availability of adequate spectrum resources to meet growing demand for wireless broadband services, minimize barriers to deployment and promote investment, and promote competition in the backhaul and middle mile markets.

A copy of the WCAI comments is available at: http://wcai.com/images/pdf/2009_wcai06-08.pdf.

WCAI Congratulates Blair Levin on Rejoining FCC

FCC Acting Chairman Michael Copps announced today that Blair Levin will rejoin the Commission to help coordinate its development of a national broadband plan. I can’t think of anyone who would be better suited to lead the development of the national broadband plan than Blair Levin. His vast experience both in the industry and at the FCC will be a valuable asset as the Commission is taking on such a critical task. A strong advocate for bringing broadband services to all Americans, Mr. Levin understands the importance of wireless platforms in achieving universal broadband connectivity. On behalf of the wireless broadband industry, I want to congratulate Mr. Levin on rejoining the FCC and look forward to working with him.

WCAI Applauds FCC Move to Develop National Broadband Plan

The FCC today adopted a notice of inquiry seeking public comment on the national broadband plan that the Commission is required to prepare under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA). We at WCAI are pleased to see the FCC take first step in this important process. Wireless broadband platforms should play a leading role in the Commission’s plan to ensure that every American has access to broadband capability. Wireless technology is the most cost-effective way to provide affordable broadband both to sparsely populated rural areas and urban centers. Moreover, as the only broadband platform that is capable of providing access everywhere, all the time, wireless broadband offers mobility – a connection to every person whether at home or on the go. These capabilities make wireless broadband essential to achieving the FCC’s goal of universal broadband connectivity.”