To develop as much agreement as possible on the components
of a national broadband strategy, the US Broadband Coalition formed six working groups. These groups reported on their
progress at events in Washington, DC, on September 24 and November 13 2009.
To
review a working group's mission statement, co-chairs,
members, and other pertinent information, please click on its link below.
If your organization would like to participate in one or more groups, please contact Jim Baller at Jim@Baller.com. Working Group on Need for a National Broadband Strategy
The
broadband-enabled Internet is rapidly changing the world. It has become a catalyst for innovation, economic
growth, job creation, educational opportunity and global competitiveness. It enhances public safety, homeland
security, health care, energy efficiency, environmental sustainability and the worldwide distribution of millions of products,
processes and services. It aids in revitalizing depressed urban and rural economies and addressing the
special needs of senior citizens, individuals with disabilities, and young people. It creates a vehicle
for enhancing the level of civic participation and discourse so important to a functioning democracy. The mission of this working group was to demonstrate why the United States urgently
needs a comprehensive national broadband strategy in order to take maximum advantage of the vast potential benefits of the
broadband-enabled Internet.
Co-Chairs: Jeff
Campbell (Cisco) and Jonathan Rintels (Center for Creative Voices in the Media)
Working Group on Goals
All members of the US Broadband Coalition endorse
the goals in the Call to Action, but not necessarily on how to achieve them. For example, some members believe that
the United States should strive to be a “100 Megabit Nation” by 2015, while others believe that such a goal is
either too ambitious or not ambitious enough. Some members focus on particular technologies, while others
argue for technology-neutral performance standards. Some call for universal standards, while others call
for different standards for different situations. Some emphasize preserving an open Internet, while others
emphasize flexibility in network management. The mission of the Working Group on Goals was to explore these
issues in greater depth and develop as much agreement on them as possible.
Co-Chairs: Rick Cimerman (National Cable & Telecommunications Association)
and John Windhausen (EDUCAUSE and American Library Association).
Working Group on Metrics
Timely, accurate, and trustworthy data on current and future deployment, adoption, and use of broadband
connections to the Internet are essential at every step in the process of developing and implementing a National Broadband
Strategy. Good data are necessary to establish meaningful goals, to evaluate how well we are doing in meeting
these goals, to make appropriate policy adjustments if we are not, to ensure accountability, and to compare our performance
with that of other leading nations in an increasingly competitive global economy. Service providers and
investors need good data to make sound investments. Users of broadband connections need good data to make wise choices
among available options. The mission of the Working Group on Metrics was to develop as much agreement as
possible on the nature, quality, and timeliness of the data needed for all of these purposes, and on how such data should
be collected and disseminated.
Co-Chairs:
Robert Atkinson (Information Technology and Innovation Foundation) and Drew Clark (Broadband Census)
Working Group on Availability
All members of the US Broadband Coalition agree on the need for policies
that would increase availability of robust broadband connections to the Internet. The mission of the Working
Group on Availability is to identify and build consensus on short-term and long-term policies to stimulate sustainable investments in
broadband infrastructure and to mitigate financial, legal, and regulatory barriers to such investments. To some extent, the mission of the Working Group on Availability overlapped with that of the
Working Group on Adoption and Use, as the supply-side considerations affecting the availability of broadband connections to
the Internet are significantly affected by a variety of demand-side considerations, including price and quality of such connections,
citizen education, access to computers, etc. The Working Group on Availability focused primarily on the
supply-side considerations.
Co-Chairs:
Brent Olson (AT&T) and Ben Scott (Free Press)
Working Group on Adoption and Use
The mission
of the Working Group on Adoption and Use is to investigate why residential, commercial, and institutional users do or do not
use the Internet; to examine how broadband connections to the Internet can facilitate, expand, and improve such use; and to
develop consensus on promising approaches to increasing adoption and use of broadband connections to the Internet.
The Group will not merely address unserved or underserved areas but will also explore ways to stimulate use of broadband as
a driver of economic development, educational opportunity, public safety and homeland security, affordable modern health
care, environmental sustainability, energy efficiency, improved government service, etc. To
some extent, the mission of the Working Group on Adoption and Use overlapped with that of the Working Group on Availability,
as physical availability of networks, price and quality of services, consumer education, access to computers, accessibility
for people with disabilities, and many other considerations, interact with each other. The Working Group
on Adoption and Use focused on these issues primarily from the perspective of potential broadband users.
Co-Chairs: Charles Benton (Benton Foundation),
Link Hoewing (Verizon), and Karen Perry (Knight Center of Digital Excellence)
Working Group on Implementation
A nation as complex as the United States will necessarily require a multi-faceted National Broadband
Strategy. Such a strategy, in turn, will pose significant implementation issues at all levels of government.
The mission of the Working Group on Implementation was to identify these issues and develop as much agreement
as possible on how they should be resolved.
Co-Chairs:
Diane Duffy (Telcordia) and Geoff Daily (App-Rising)
