Rockefeller weighs in on National Broadband Plan

0

Senate Commerce Committee chair Jay Rockefeller (D-WV) is particularly concerned about the last mile of broadband adoption, since a disproportionate proportion of the heavy lifting will need to be done in his heavily-rural state.


He said that the FCC’s National Broadband Plan was a start, but that it wasn’t enough.

“It’s action that counts,” he said. “Let me tell you why. In West Virginia, one in five households lack access to broadband service. As this plan notes, only 71% of the state’s population has access to 3G wireless service. Every day that goes by, communities without broadband in West Virginia and every other state risk falling further behind.”

In the wake of the DC Circuit’s ruling against the FCC and for Comcast in the BitTorrent case, Rockefeller urged FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski to do what he could to get started without waiting for any outside help.

And if Genachowski feels he requires legislation to move ahead with a plan that will “protect consumers and pursue the broad objectives of the broadband plan,” he promised that he would take on that responsibility in the Senate.