FCC chair to field YouTube questions on broadband plan

Federal Communications Commission Chairman Julius Genachowski will sit down with YouTube on Tuesday, March 16 to answer Web users' questions about his agency's new broadband plan.

Genachowski will be the second federal official to participate in the Web site's series of interviews with government leaders, following President Barack Obama's video question-and-answer session last month.

The live event arrives in conjunction with the FCC's forthcoming National Broadband Plan, due to congressional lawmakers on March 17. Among other components, the report sets the ambitious target of 90 percent domestic broadband adoption by 2020.

Users will have the opportunity to press Genachowski on that plan through CitizenTube, the video-sharing site's civic engagement hub. Alternatively, mobile users can text questions to Google Moderator, the search giant's new audience app. YouTube will then compile a selection of the most popular video or text questions, and pose them to Genachowski on Tuesday.

The question submission deadline is this Sunday, March 14, according to the site.

"Access to the Internet has transformed almost every aspect of our economy and society," CitizenTube moderators said in a blog post announcing the forum.

"This is your chance to press the FCC on how the National Broadband Plan will work, and ask your questions about improving the Internet in America. We're looking forward to seeing your questions and hearing what the Chairman has to say," they wrote.

---