FCC schedules broadband plan release – one day early, one month late

The Federal Communications Commission today said it will release its National Broadband Plan next Tuesday in an open meeting, one month delayed from its original due date but a day before it is formally due to Congress.

The original due date for the plan was pushed back to March when the FCC asked for an extension.

In recent weeks, FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski has been making the rounds in the press to seemingly float some of the key ideas of the plan.

Some, like Genachowski’s 100 Squared proposal to achieve 100 Mb/s usage by 100 U.S. million households by 2020 are hard to argue with – though possibly challenging to reach.

More recently – and controversially – officials have floated the idea of transitioning the Universal Service Fund from voice to broadband services to help incent broadband investment. The Universal Service reform plan calls for the transitioned replacement of the high-cost Universal Service Fund with a new Connect America fund and the creation of a mobility fund.

The plan also is expected to call for TV broadcasters to relinquish some wireless spectrum so those resources could be redeployed for wireless broadband services.

While the FCC will unveil its plan on March 16, that’s likely just the start of a long process with Congress weighing in with its guidance – and possible lawmaking – and various industry stakeholders continuing to lobby to influence how the plans are actually put into play via FCC rule-making.