Vice President Biden and newly sworn in FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski are scheduled to appear together tomorrow at a news conference in Erie, Pennsylvania, where the Obama administration is expected to announce the Notice of Funds Availability for $7.2 billion in broadband stimulus funding for construction of wireless network facilities in unserved and underserved areas of the United States. The release will include details of restrictions on those who participate in the grant program, including the FCC "network neutrality" principles already in place as well as expected new restrictions on anti-competitive behavior like delivering the signal of competing content providers at slower speeds than the network owner's own programming.
One FCC desire is that the networks built with grant funds offer the fastest available data transmission speeds. It will not be clear until the NOFA is released whether the FCC will include objective data speed requirements, or will merely give award preferences to those applicants offering the highest transmission speeds.
One FCC desire is that the networks built with grant funds offer the fastest available data transmission speeds. It will not be clear until the NOFA is released whether the FCC will include objective data speed requirements, or will merely give award preferences to those applicants offering the highest transmission speeds.
