First, New Mexico, the state where President Bush March 26 unveiled his broadband policy for dummies. Now, New Hampshire, the state where Federal Communications Commission Chairman Michael Powell will join John Sununu-the junior GOP senator from the Granite State-to talk up broadband this Wednesday.
Broadband has come to the battleground states, undoubtedly reflecting scientific polling showing high-speed Internet access is a key to success in the two tipping-point states.
Powell was effusive about the president’s call for universal and affordable broadband access by 2007, tagging it a “bold vision” in a statement about equal in word count to the Bush broadband declaration itself. Don’t bother looking for details about wireless in the president’s broadband utterance. They don’t exist.
Sen. John Kerry (D-Kerry), Bush’s opponent in November, has been a tease on broadband, promising to show his-broadband policy-shortly. Kerry, by the way, also promised 10 million new jobs his first four years in the White House.
I’m tempted to believe Bush targeted 2007 for universal broadband access because it probably is on the way to happening anyway, regardless of a meaningless national policy. More likely, the president’s rapid response team learned Kerry planned to exploit Bush’s lack of a broadband plan.
Likewise, if recent employment figures are to be trusted, Kerry’s 10-million-jobs bet may be a cleverly disguised way of conceding that Bush’s tax cuts worked and more benefits from the economic stimulus are around the corner.
As far as the New Hampshire event, I cannot see too many mobile-phone execs jumping on planes to attend.
You see, Sununu is partly responsible for mucking up Senate spectrum relocation legislation so crucial to securing Department of Defense spectrum for third-generation wireless systems. Sens. Sununu and Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.) went to bat for Northpoint Technology, sponsoring an amendment probably rendered moot by an FCC auction in January.
Powell and Sununu, whose fathers would be nowhere in this world without their celebrity sons, did not see eye to eye on Northpoint. But the two men are in harmony in desiring to keep VoIP free and clear of federal regulations. This has the FBI, otherwise big on wiretaps in the post-9/11 world, anxious and exercised.
Meanwhile, the spectrum-relocation bill languishes in the Senate as legislative days this election year dwindle by the day.
Making the New Hampshire affair all the more hard to swallow for industry is that Powell has tended to focus on emerging technologies-like Wi-Fi, UWB, VoIP and powerline broadband-while struggling cell-phone operators seek regulatory relief and try to get out from under new taxes, possibly new state rules and consumer lawsuits everywhere.
