FCC to reveal National Broadband Plan Tuesday

The FCC plans to introduce its long-awaited National Broadband Plan on Tuesday during an open commission meeting and present the plan to Congress on March 17.

During the last few weeks, the FCC has revealed various elements of the plan, including FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski's 100 squared proposal to bring 100 Mbps bandwidth services to 100 million homes by 2020, shifting the focus of the Universal SErvice fund from voice to broadband incentives, funding and building out a national public safety wireless broadband network and the desire to secure additional spectrum for mobile broadband services.

One provision, a "Mobile Future Auction," calls for a spectrum auction that allows current licensees, including broadcasters, to voluntarily give up spectrum in exchange for a share of auction proceeds. This provision, which has drawn the ire of the National Association of Broadcasters trade group, is one element of a plan to free up 500 MHz of spectrum over the next decade for mobile broadband use.

Stay tuned for our ongoing coverage of the issue.

For more:
- read this Connected Planet article

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