USDA, Commerce to unveil broadband guidelines

USDA and the Commerce Department are poised to unveil their guidelines for the $7.2 billion broadband stimulus program as early as Wednesday to coincide with a news conference in Erie, Pa., featuring Vice President Biden.

The guidelines, known as the "Notice of Funds Availability," or NOFA, will provide telecom and cable companies with crucial details about the initiative, including the scope of regulatory conditions imposed by Congress and whether unserved or underserved communities should receive the bulk of the money.

Biden is scheduled to appear Wednesday morning at Seneca High School in Erie to discuss the Recovery Act's broadband investments. He will be joined by Commerce Secretary Locke, Agriculture Secretary Vilsack, and FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski, who was sworn in Monday by Supreme Court Justice David Souter. Also on the dais will be Rep. Kathleen Dahlkemper, D-Pa., whose district includes Erie.

Broadband has emerged as the centerpiece of the Obama administration's telecom policy, with the three federal agencies collaborating on ways to boost speeds and expand access, particularly in rural areas, through government incentives.

Underscoring the importance of broadband to Genachowski, the FCC announced shortly after he took the helm that Thursday's public meeting would feature "a presentation on the status of the commission's process for developing a national broadband plan."

Major telecom players have expressed concern about the conditions to be imposed on companies receiving broadband stimulus funds. Verizon is among those that have stated they are likely to pass on the money. Recipients must guarantee interconnection rights for competing carriers and adhere to network nondiscrimination obligations.

The latter is likely to involve satisfying the FCC's four network neutrality principles aimed at preserving an open Internet. Less clear is whether recipients would have to comply with a fifth principle barring anti-competitive behavior that the agency is expected to adopt under Genachowski's leadership.

Sources also expect the federal dollars to hinge on offering faster speeds. This could be accomplished in two ways: Speed benchmarks could be set for fund recipients, or broadband providers capable of offering fast speeds at reasonable rates could be given priority for funding. "They don't want networks that are obsolete as soon as you build them," a telecom industry source quipped.