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FCC Needs Your Comments on Local Government and Broadband
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The FCC is asking for comments on the contribution of federal, state, tribal, and local government to broadband [pdf]. Comments are due on Friday, Nov 6.
Take a look at the comment request above (it is only 5 pages long) and pick one of the areas in which they are interested - readers here may be most interested in #2 - "Government broadband initiatives."
a. Governments have engaged in various initiatives to increase broadband deployment and adoption in certain geographic areas. With regard to specific examples of federal, state, tribal, or local broadband initiatives, how did the initiatives come to fruition from start to finish? Please describe cost information, including planning, equipment, training, labor, and conclusion of the initiatives, as well as barriers that were overcome. What elements of the initiation, planning, or implementation were most critical to the success of the project? What factors impacted the technological choices made in the planning and implementation of the project? Were the projects sustainable, and have the projects continued beyond their initially conceived timeframes? What were the costs and the resulting empirically demonstrable benefits or harms of the implementation? How did costs and benefits differ from the original plan and why? b. What conclusions should be drawn from any particular experiences (e.g., what efforts or practices should be replicated or avoided)? c. Please provide examples of governments aggregating demand to encourage broadband deployment. Are such programs sustainable? Do these programs cause the deployment of network infrastructure that otherwise would not have occurred? Please provide data when possible. d. How can successful broadband solutions be more widely shared or publicized to enable other governments to benefit? What should be the role for the federal government (and specifically, this Commission) in fostering the widespread adoption of ideas and initiatives that have worked? e. Is there a role for non-profit or private sector partnerships in governmental broadband solutions? Please provide examples from real-life initiatives.You do not have to answer everything - feel free to just pick one aspect you want to bring to the FCC's attention and then:
- Go to the FCC's Electronic Comment Filing System (you will be making a public comment).
- The proceeding number is #09-51
- Fill out the required fields.
- At the top of the box for your comments, start by noting the comment refers to GN Docket Nos. 09-47, 09-51, 09-137 and says "Comments -- NBP Public Notice #7"
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