Broadband service providers are also weighing in on the broadband plan as the industry gears up for the FCC's major presentation tomorrow morning. 

Comcast CEO Brian Roberts, for example, said it the plan appears to point out the essential need to "fix and redirect outdated subsidy schemes to more efficiently deliver broadband to unserved areas and to close the affordability gap for low-income families."

But he took the chance to reiterate that he hopes the plan does not include proposals that could deter the "continued private investment in faster competitive broadband networks," such as, we presume, net neutrality regulations.

Steve Largent, CEO of the wireless industry's trade group, CTIA, said he appreciates the focus on making 500 megahertz of spectrum available for wireless broadband within 10 years and 300 megahertz available in the next five years.

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Three Senate Democrats took the cue from the FCC's limited release of its National Broadband Plan to introduce their own legislation to make broadband data more transparent for consumers.

Sens. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) and Mark Begich (D-Alaska) put forth a bill today that would make broadband service providers reveal the actual speeds consumers should expect to receive.

The bill requires the FCC to develop uniform performance standards to consumers can compare the speeds advertised with the speeds they actually receive.

The FCC's plan, to be formally delivered to Congress Wednesday, recommends collecting more detailed and accurate data on actual availability, penetration, prices and bundles offered by broadband providers. The FCC would undertake a rulemaking to find ways to make that information public.

Currently, that information is considered "proprietary" by companies like AT&T, Verizon and Comcast, and is blocked from public view. This practice, the FCC says, will enhance competition and give consumers more information about the choices available to them.

“As more and more consumers gain access to high-speed internet service, they should know exactly what kind of service they are paying for,”  Klobuchar said.  “A key factor in a consumer’s decision to purchase broadband internet is how fast the service will be.  If providers are advertising a certain type of broadband speed, then that is the speed consumers should receive.”

According to the FCC, the actual broadband speed consumers experience lags the advertised speed by as much as 50 to 80 percent.

Rep. Doris Matsui joined the chorus of House members praising the FCC's National Broadband Plan, giving special plaudits to the agency's focus on making broadband access more affordable.

A central recommendation of the plan would expand the "Lifeline/Link-up" program to include broadband. Currently, the program provides discounted access to basic telephone service for low-income consumers. By reforming the out-dated Universal Service Fund--an $8 billion a year program to subsidize phone service to rural and unserved areas--consumers will be able to get basic internet services as well.

Matsui said the goal is similar to the legislation she introduced last year--the Broadband Affordability Act.

“There are far too many Americans on the wrong side of the digital divide because of the high cost of broadband services today,” added Matsui.  “We have learned from a wide variety of studies that the high cost of broadband services is the number one reason why millions of Americans are not connecting to in-home broadband services.

FCC officials declined to define "affordability" with a specific price, saying that is largely a function of the market. They also said it would be inappropriate to define what affordable broadband access should cost by 2020 and that the hope increasing competition will achieve the affordability goal.

The FCC's National Broadband Plan, scheduled to be delivered to Congress on Tuesday, sets forth a far-reaching, multi-pronged strategy to expanding broadband access, increasing competition between providers, and reallocating the nation's airwaves to better facilitate wireless communications.

The 359-page report was released to reporters today, although it is not yet available in digital form. The FCC plans to post it online tomorrow in time for its Tuesday open meeting before officially handing it over to Congress on Wednesday.

FCC officials stressed today in a briefing with reporters that the document is a strategic plan that will set off a number of rule-making procedures at the FCC. While it makes key recommendations, most of the items will require additional action by the FCC or Congress to fully implement.

We have already reported on most of the plans described in the plan, but here is a sampling of the major goals laid out:   Read more...

Rep. Rick Boucher (D-Va.) on Monday promised to work with lawmakers to "enact legislation which will carry forward" the Federal Communications Commission's proposed changes to the Universal Service Fund.

Those reforms, released Monday as part of the agency's National Broadband Plan, would allow federal officials to devote some of the fund's money to broadband expansion -- a focus that current law still prohibits.

"It is essential that the funds be expended in a manner that helps achieve nationwide broadband deployment, and I look forward to working with the FCC to pass the comprehensive reform legislation that achieves that goal,” Boucher said in a statement.

As chairman of the House Subcommittee on Communications, Technology and the Internet, Boucher has long pushed for changes to that 1996 program, which guarantees money for the establishment of universal telecommunications services nationwide.

However, the fund is prohibited from using federal dollars to subsidize broadband expansion, even to areas still without high-speed Internet. Boucher has consequently promised legislation to address that oversight, which he said Monday would pair nicely with the FCC's new recommendations.

“Both the Commission’s plan and our comprehensive reform legislation would ensure the Universal Service Fund supports broadband deployment," the chairman said in a statement, noting he agreed with the agency's plan to pursue 100 megabite-per-second broadband connections for 100 million homes by 2020.

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Innovation in the classroom, at the workplace and within the branches of the federal government will dominate committee hearings on Capitol Hill this week.

Science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) education is the subject of the House Science and Technology Committee's first hearing on Tuesday. A collection of education experts from universities and research groups around the country will offer their takes on how to best broaden participation in STEM programs, one of the White House's key education goals. When: Tuesday, 10 a.m. - 12 p.m.; Where: Rayburn 2318.

Members on the House Homeland Security Committee's Subcommittee on Emerging Threats on Tuesday will markup the Homeland Security Science and Technology Authorization Act of 2010. The bill appropriates money for the agency's Directorate of Science and Technology for 2011 and 2012. When: Tuesday, March 16, 2 p.m.
 Where: Cannon 311, also available via webcast.

Meanwhile, the House Oversight Committee will examine the effectiveness of the federal Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) on Tuesday. That hearing arrives at the same time Sens. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) and John Cornyn (R-Tx.) are pushing a bill that would establish a panel to investigate the federal government's running FOIA backlog. When: Tuesday, March 16, 2 p.m.; Where: Rayburn 2154.

On Wednesday, the House Science and Technology Committee will convene again to focus on the federal government's role in stimulating private innovation. Attending that hearing will be Dr. Susan Smith, a chief researcher at General Motors, among representatives from other industries and science/technology researchers. When: Tuesday, 10 a.m. - 12 p.m.; Where: Rayburn 2318.

The Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee will also convene Thursday to hear testimony on "commercial space capabilities." That hearing arrives in response to the president's 2011 NASA budget, which in part would contract out some low-orbit, manned space missions to private firms.

However, a handful of lawmakers from both political parties believe commercial entities are far from ready to begin those missions in the near future. Many are now calling on the Obama administration to rethink its budget proposal -- an argument likely to be repeated during Thursday's discussion. When: Thurs. March 18, 2:30 p.m.; Where: Russell 253.

The National Broadband Plan laid out Monday by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) offers a far-reaching, multi-pronged strategy for expanding broadband access. Read more...

The Federal Communications Commission on Monday released the opening pages of its National Broadband Report, due to Congress later this week.

The executive summary (.pdf) confirms weeks of reportage and countless predictions that the agency would propose a host of sweeping and sometimes costly changes, all designed to expand broadband access to 90 percent of American households by 2020.

Among the FCC's suggestions are new competition policies, including requirements that federal officials publish broadband pricing and availability and investigate decades-old competition rules.

The agency also called on Congress to create a host of incentives that would promote "universal access" to broadband, including the establishment of two funds that would help states, federal officials and Internet companies promote high-speed broadband expansion and use.

Full details of all of the FCC's suggestions are due to Congress on Tuesday, the FCC announced on Monday.

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Expect more federal agencies to hold contests -- and offer prizes -- in the name of innovation, the White House signaled last week.

As part of President Barack Obama's open government directive, the White House is encouraging agencies like NASA and the Department of Energy to "increase the use of prizes and challenges as tools for promoting open government, innovation, and other national priorities," according to a policy memo from the Office of Management and Budget, released last Monday.

Moreover, the White House plans to establish "a web-based platform for prizes and challenges within 120 days," the memo notes.

"This platform will provide a forum for agencies to post problems and invite communities of problem solvers to suggest, collaborate on, and deliver solutions," according to the White House, which added it would soon task the General Services Administration with the primary responsibility of managing those challenges.

The White House's perhaps unorthodox emphasis on contests to promote innovation is one part of the Obama administration's latest push for more public-private collaboration.

The memo released Monday details a host of projects already improved through federal contests -- from vehicle technology ideas submitted to NASA, to low-cost, highly efficient lighting devices proposed to the Department of Energy, to less tech-oriented solutions pitched to the State Department's diplomatic missions.

Consequently, the White House hopes to expand that process manifestly to more federal agencies in the coming months. And with it, the Obama administration is ordering federal officials to offer better prizes to encourage participation.

"A prize should not be an end in itself, but one means within a broader strategy for spurring private innovation and change," according to the OMB memo. "Furthermore, agencies should plan appropriately for all stages of prize development and, where permissible, consider partnering with other entities that might administer, support, or catalyze the prize."