NEW YORK-If the federal Telecommunications Act of 1996 were a building under construction, inspectors evaluating this work in progress should be concerned about its structural integrity.
The law “is supported by two pillars: universal service and competition,” said Gregory L. Rohde, who was appointed U.S. assistant secretary of commerce for communications and information in November.
“The [Federal Communications Commission] has done a very good job of pushing competition, but it hasn’t even gotten the engine started on universal service.”
The Bismark, N.D., native, who worked to help develop the 1996 telecommunications law, made these remarks in his keynote address Feb. 25 at a conference on rural telecommunications hosted by Baltimore-based Legg Mason Wood Walker Inc.
While criticizing the commission for delays in building this second “pillar” to support the telecommunications law, Rohde also praised its establishment of what he called “an excellent forum”-the FCC’s Rural Task Force, chaired by William “Bo” Gillis, director of Washington state’s Utilities and Transportation Commission.
“The universal service system needs to be restructured, and the decisions made in the next one-to-one-and-a-half years will be critical to how the system will look,” Rohde said.
“This is the backdrop for the agenda I am working on in the policy shop.”
In his capacity as assistant commerce secretary, Rohde is in charge of the National Telecommunications and Information Administration. NTIA advises the White House on telecommunications policy and manages federal government spectrum.
“Before 1996, there never was in statute any promise of (rural) access to advanced services at comparable rates,” he said.
“The promise is that universal service support is linked to technological advancements, that it’s not just about maintaining the existing system … The present system doesn’t meet sufficiency requirements.”
Just as he sees telecommunications as the key link between small businesses in remote areas and international electronic commerce opportunities, Rohde also said small businesses should be allowed to compete to supply telecommunications services to rural communities. Consequently, the assistant commerce secretary offered strong support for retaining the “designated entity” requirement for companies bidding in the FCC’s re-auction of C-block spectrum licenses.
The federal law authorizing the C-block auctions specifically intended to “maximize the number of entrepreneurs as an efficient means to allocate spectrum, not just to raise money for the treasury,” Rohde said.
As they give top priority to universal service reform, NTIA and the Clinton administration view wireless as a natural access enabler for unserved or underserved communities.
“In two years, the No. 1 computing device will be a cell phone. Think about what this means for the ability of people to access this new, incredible instrument of the Internet, paying a few hundred dollars instead of a few thousand,” Rohde said.
Promoting innovation is a new and important role for NTIA as it responds to and tries to anticipate rapid advances in telecommunications technologies, Rohde said.
“NTIA and the President are looking at a new program to expand access to homes, and we are thinking about cell phones and mobile access (for this),” Rohde said.
“We are also looking to expand grants to non-profits for applying these innovative applications.”
NTIA also receives many thousands of applications for reallocation of the spectrum it manages.
“We are trying to do this in a way that fosters private-sector innovation … Wireless technologies hold unique promise and dramatic possibilities,” Rohde said.
NTIA is working with the Department of Defense on more efficient communications systems, which would then “free up more spectrum for private-sector use,” he said. In addition, it is evaluating intelligent transportation systems employing wireless communications that promise to ameliorate highway congestion.
As they look to expand global business opportunities for rural American communities, NTIA and the Clinton administration also are taking their telecommunications show on the international road.
“As the economy becomes more global, the United States has a self interest in helping other countries develop their telecommunications infrastructure through universal service and (encouraging them) to open their markets (to our exports),” Rohde said.
