10/12. The Government Accountability Office (GAO) released a report [49 pages in PDF] titled "Telecommunications: National Broadband Plan Reflects the Experiences of Leading Countries, but Implementation Will Be Challenging".

The GAO wrote this report at the request of Rep. Henry Waxman (D-CA), the Chairman of the House Commerce Committee (HCC) and Rep. Rick Boucher (D-VA), Chairman of the HCC's Subcommittee on Communications, Technology and the Internet. The report is dated September 14, 2010. However, it was not released until October 12, 2010.

This report addresses government efforts in other nations to plan increased broadband infrastructure deployment and consumer adoption, and the U.S. Federal Communications Commission's staff report [376 pages in PDF] titled "National Broadband Plan", released on March 15, 2010.

Rep. Boucher (at right) stated in a release that "The GAO's report confirms what the National Broadband Plan suggested: Achieving universal broadband availability and encouraging adoption is a challenge best met by the government and private sector joining forces".

He continued that "Broadband today is an essential infrastructure, and we must ensure that everyone has access to it at meaningful speeds and affordable prices. One important tool for making ubiquitous broadband a reality is promptly adopting legislation to update the Universal Service Fund to allow its use by communications providers for broadband deployment and adoption.  The United States must do better than 15th in the world for both broadband deployment and adoption.  I look forward to working with my colleagues and the Commission to ensure that we adopt meaningful policies to do that."

Cross National Comparisons of 30 Countries. The report first examines the status of broadband deployment and adoption in 30 countries. It uses Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) data on 30 leading countries.

The report states that "In 27 of the 30 OECD countries, including the United States, broadband has been deployed to 90 percent or more of households regardless of demographic or geographic differences. High rates of broadband deployment have been achieved despite geographic and financial differences among the OECD countries." (Footnote omitted.)

It ranks the U.S. as 15th among these nations in broadband deployment as a percentage of households.

It also ranks Canada as 20th among the 30 nations. It also ranks the U.K. as 3rd, Korea as 6th, and Japan as 8th.

The report states that the U.S. also ranks 15th in broadband subscriber lines per 100 inhabitants.

The report acknowledges that "such studies have limitations". See also, GAO report [54 pages in PDF] titled "Telecommunications: Current Broadband Measures Have Limitations, and New Measures Are Promising but Need Improvement", dated October 9, 2009.

On October 6, 2010, the Institute for Policy Innovation (IPI) hosted a half day conference titled "Communications Summit". Brett Swanson (Entropy Economics) gave a speech at this event in which he argued that a better cross national measure would be the volume of IP traffic per user. He said the under this method, Korea ranks first by much, Canada is second, with the U.S. just behind in third.

The just released GAO report also states that Korea has the highest average download speed, at 11.717 Mbps. The U.S. is 14th, at 3.808 Mbps.

Policies in Seven Countries. The GAO report next examines governmental actions taken in seven countries (Canada, France, Japan, the Netherlands, Korea, Sweden, and the UK) to increase broadband deployment and adoption.

The policies addressed by the report include government funding of service providers, unbundling mandates, and government spending to increase consumer usage of broadband.

It states that "All seven selected countries have instituted broadband plans" and that all have "achieved higher levels of either broadband deployment or broadband adoption than the United States as of the fourth quarter of 2009".

The report states that "public/private partnerships" (that is, "government funding") promote broadband deployment in "unserved and underserved areas".

It elaborates that "Whereas private enterprises have deployed broadband infrastructure in high-density urban areas where there is a strong business case for such investment, they have independently invested less in low-density rural areas or isolated communities, where deployment costs more per household and offers less opportunity for profit. Officials in both the public and private sectors of several of the countries we visited acknowledged that some areas are unprofitable to serve and some incentive, usually in the form of government funding, is required to motivate private investment and achieve universal access. The public/private partnerships in our case-study countries range from local authorities and private companies that have shared the cost of building a network to municipalities that own broadband networks and contract with private companies to operate and maintain them."

However, the report also states that "some providers have expressed reservations about using public funds to support businesses in competition with private enterprise. Two providers told us that they think it is unfair to use public funds to finance wireline broadband to compete with a company providing broadband over a satellite or wireless network in rural areas because there is not enough business in such areas to support one unsubsidized company. In addition, officials at companies in Japan and Canada questioned the sustainability of government-funded projects and expressed concern about who would be responsible for maintaining government-funded infrastructure once the government funding is gone."

The report also states that "increasing the level of competition" (that is, government mandates for unbundling by wireline broadband internet access service providers) promotes broadband adoption.

It elaborates that "six of seven countries have increased the level of competition in the provision of wireline broadband service through laws, regulations, or both, which require the incumbent telephone carrier to open its copper networks (the legacy infrastructure used to provide telephone service) and provide access to competitors at wholesale prices." (Parentheses in original.)

It adds that "Government officials in some countries told us that requiring companies to unbundle has provided several consumer benefits, such as greater competition, higher speeds, more services, and lower prices."

The report also states that "the benefits of fiber unbundling are less clear", citing officials who state that "overregulation too early in the fiber rollout will hamper investment".

The report also addresses government efforts to increase usage of broadband by consumers through further government spending. The report states that "Governments in all seven of our case-study countries have attempted to increase usage through strategies for making broadband services more available and more useful to consumers", such as "funding to deploy broadband to schools", subsidizing computer purchases, and providing government services online.

The report also addresses government efforts to plan consumers' preferences, such as "digital literacy programs".

Comparison of Policies in US and Other Countries. Finally, this GAO report examines how the recommendations contained in the FCC's March 2010 report "reflect the actions of selected countries to increase broadband deployment and adoption".

The report states that the FCC's "areas and the types of actions overlap and represent similar approaches to expanding broadband deployment and adoption".

"Just as the governments of our seven selected countries established plans and policies to guide their efforts to expand broadband deployment and adoption, the National Broadband Plan contains recommendations to FCC, Congress, and federal agencies designed to guide future federal efforts." The GAO report then outlines some of the components of the FCC's report, and compares them to ongoing governmental efforts in the seven studied countries.

The GAO report adds that implementing the recommendations in the FCC's report "will require obtaining sufficient funding and coordinating the work of multiple federal, state, local, and private entities, among other actions".

And finally, it states that "It remains to be seen whether and how effectively federal agencies will be able address these challenges and implement the plan’s recommendations, as well as what the private sector will do to further deployment and adoption."

10/12. HR 1 [LOC | WW], the huge spending bill passed by the Congress in February of 2009, provided $7.2 Billion to the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) and Rural Utilities Service (RUS) for the purpose of promoting broadband.

Much of this money is being spent via multi-year grants. That bill, however, did not appropriate funds for the government to conduct ongoing oversight of these grants. Legislators are now seeking funding for such oversight.

For example, on September 16, 2010, Rep. Henry Waxman (D-CA), the Chairman of the House Commerce Committee (HCC), and Rep. Rick Boucher (D-VA), the Chairman of the HCC's Subcommittee on Communications, Technology and the Internet (SCTI), sent a letter [PDF] to the Chairmen and ranking Republicans on the House Appropriations Committee (HAC) and its Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice and Science, urging the HAC to appropriate $23.7 Million to the NTIA to oversee and manage the grants it has awarded under its Broadband Technology Opportunities Program (BTOP), which was funded by HR 1.

The Congress adjourned until after the November elections without appropriating further funds.

HR 1, titled the "American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009", provided $4.7 Billion for NTIA to create the BTOP to manage competitive grants to entities for broadband infrastructure, public computer centers, and projects to stimulate consumer demand for, and adoption of, broadband.

Rep. Waxman and Rep. Boucher now asked for additional "resources beyond September 30, 2010 for grant oversight".

Neil Fried, Republican counsel to the HCC and its SCTI, participated in panel discussion on Capitol Hill on October 12 at which he discussed this matter. He said that the passage of HR 1 was so rushed that it "doesn't provide for oversight of the grants".

Daniel Sepulveda, who works for Sen. John Kerry (D-MA), spoke at the same event. He said that Sen. Kerry too supports giving the NTIA sufficient funds to conduct oversight. He added that "it was clearly an oversight".

The Government Accountability Office (GAO) stated in a report [51 pages in PDF] released on August 4, 2010, and titled "Recovery Act: Further Opportunities Exist to Strengthen Oversight of Broadband Stimulus Programs" that "Effective monitoring and oversight of over $7 billion in Recovery Act broadband stimulus funding will require significant resources, including staffing, to ensure that recipients fulfill their obligations."

Rep. Waxman and Rep. Boucher wrote in their letter that "Since BTOP infrastructure projects are complex and a number of awardees are new to the federal grant process, most, if not all, projects will require technical assistance and careful monitoring, including site visits, to ensure they achieve their program objectives, are completed on time, and comply with federal regulations."

They ask for a Fiscal Year 2011 appropriation of $23.7 Million for BTOP oversight, monitoring, management, and reporting. The letter is dated September 16, 2010. The HCC released the letter to the public on September 28, 2010.

Fried and Sepulveda spoke at an event hosted by the Free State Foundation (FSF) titled "Looking Forward: Will Congress Establish Broadband Policy?"

10/12. The Department of Commerce's (DOC) Bureau of Industry and Security's (BIS) published a notice in the Federal Register announcing that it seeks members for its seven technical advisory committees. These include the Information Systems Technical Advisory Committee (ISTAC), which advises the BIS on regulation of electronics, computers, telecommunications, and information security, the Regulations and Procedures TAC, and the Emerging Technology and Research Advisory TAC. See, Federal Register, October 12, 2010, Vol. 75, No. 196, at Page 62509.

10/12. Karen Garnett and Mark Kronforst were named Associate Directors in the Securities and Exchange Commission's (SEC) Division of Corporation Finance (DCF). Kronforst was previously Branch Chief and Assistant Chief Accountant in the DCF's Office of Computers and Online Services. See, SEC release.

10/7. The Government Accountability Office (GAO) released a report [35 pages in PDF] titled "Privacy: OPM Should Better Monitor Implementation of Privacy-Related Policies and Procedures for Background Investigations".

10/6. The Government Accountability Office (GAO) released a report [66 pages in PDF] titled "Cyberspace Policy: Executive Branch Is Making Progress Implementing 2009 Policy Review Recommendations, but Sustained Leadership Is Needed".

10/6. The Government Accountability Office (GAO) released a report [43 pages in PDF] titled "Information Technology: Opportunities Exist to Improve Management of DOD’s Electronic Health Record Initiative".

10/6. The Department of Commerce's (DOC) Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) published a notice in the Federal Register requesting comments regarding small and medium enterprises' (SME) understanding of and compliance with export controls maintained pursuant to the Export Administration Regulations (EAR). The deadline to submit comments is Monday, December 6, 2010. See, notice in the Federal Register, October 6, 2010, Vol. 75, No. 193, at Pages 61706-61707.

10/4. The Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (ITIF) released a paper [25 pages in PDF] titled "Network Policy and Economic Doctrines". The author is Robert Atkinson, head of the ITIF. He argued that "Views on network policy are shaped in large part by the economic doctrine held by the advocate, scholar or policy maker."

10/1. The Department of Justice's (DOJ) Antitrust Division published a notice in the Federal Register that sets the comment deadline for its notice of its proposed final judgment in USA v. Adobe, et al., D.C. No. 1:10-CV-01629. On September 24, 2010, the DOJ initiated and settled an action against Adobe Systems, Apple, Google, Intel, Intuit, and Pixar alleging violation of Section 1 of the Sherman Act, which is codified at 15 U.S.C. § 1, in connection with their anticompetitive conduct in the hiring of highly skilled technical employees. The settlement requires public notice and comment, and approval by the District Court. The DOJ's notice in the Federal Register states that comments are due within 60 days of publication of its notice in the Federal Register. However, it does not fix an actual date. See, Federal Register, October 1, 2010, Vol. 75, No. 192, at Pages 61419-61424. See also, story titled "DOJ Stops Tech Companies' Anticompetitive Hiring Practices" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,133, September 27, 2010.

The House is in recess until November 15.

The Senate is in recess until November 12, except for pro forma sessions.

8:00 -10:00 AM. Broadband Census News LLC will host a panel discussion titled "Finding Solutions to Problems of Copyright Infringement". The speakers will include Howard Symons (Mintz Levin) and Michael Zaneis (Interactive Advertising Bureau). Breakfast will be served. This event is free and open to the public. See, notice and registration page. This event is also sponsored by the National Cable & Telecommunications Association (NCTA) and the Public Knowledge (PK). Location: Clyde's of Gallery Place, 707 7th St., NW.

9:30 AM - 12:15 PM. The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative's (OUSTR) Committee of Chairs of the Industry Trade Advisory Committees (ITACs) will meet. The meeting will be closed to the public from 9:30 to 11:15 AM. See, notice in the Federal Register, September 22, 2010, Vol. 75, No. 183, at Page 57827. Location: Department of Commerce, Room 4830, 14th St. and Constitution Ave., NW.

10:00 AM - 4:00 PM. Day one of a three day meeting of the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission to consider drafts of material for its 2010 Annual Report to the Congress. See, notice in the Federal Register, August 10, 2010, Vol. 75, No. 153, at Page 48412. Location: Room 231, Hall of States, 444 North Capitol St., NW.

12:00 NOON - 2:00 PM. The Free State Foundation (FSF) will host a panel discussion titled "Looking Forward: Will Congress Establish Broadband Policy?". The speakers will be Neil Fried (House Commerce Committee staff), David Quinalty (Senate Commerce Committee staff), Daniel Sepulveda (Sen. John Kerry's (D-MA) staff), and Tim Powederly (HCC staff). Lunch will be served. Location: Congressional Meeting Room North, Capitol Visitor Center.

1:00 - 5:00 PM. The Commodity Futures Trading Commission's (CFTC) Technology Advisory Committee will hold a public meeting. See, notice in the Federal Register, September 24, 2010, Vol. 75, No. 185, at Pages 58367-58368. Location: CFTC, 1st floor hearing room, Three Lafayette Centre, 1155 21st St., NW.

3:00 - 5:00 PM. The Department of Commerce's (DOC) National Advisory Committee on Innovation and Entrepreneurship will meet by teleconference. The call in number is 888-942-9574; the passcode is 6315042. See, notice in the Federal Register, September 28, 2010, Vol. 75, No. 187, at Pages 59685-59686.

8:30 AM - 5:00 PM. Day one of a two day meeting of the Department of Commerce's (DOC) National Institute of Standards and Technology's (NIST) Visiting Committee on Advanced Technology. See, notice in the Federal Register, September 29, 2010, Vol. 75, No. 188, at Pages 60082-60083. Location: NIST, Portrait Room, Administration Building, Gaithersburg, MD.

8:30 AM. The Department of Homeland Security's (DHS) Critical Infrastructure Partnership Advisory Council (CIPAC) will meet. The agenda is "panel discussions between participating Sectors regarding Regionalization and Resilience and Information Sharing". See, notice in the Federal Register, October 1, 2010, Vol. 75, No. 190, at Page 60771. Location: Bethesda, MD.

10:00 AM. Status conference in USA v. Microsoft, D.C. No. 98-1232 (CKK). See, latest joint status report. Location: Courtroom 28A, Prettyman Courthouse, 333 Constitution Ave., NW.

10:00 AM - 4:00 PM. Day two of a three day meeting of the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission to consider drafts of material for its 2010 Annual Report to the Congress. See, notice in the Federal Register, August 10, 2010, Vol. 75, No. 153, at Page 48412. Location: Room 231, Hall of States, 444 North Capitol St., NW.

12:00 NOON. The Center for American Progress (CAP) will host an event titled "Avoiding Cell Phone Bill Shock". The speaker will be FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski. The FCC is scheduled to adopt a NPRM on October 14 regulating the billing and notice practices of mobile carriers, to address what proponents of such regulation title "bill shock". The CAP will webcast this event. See, CAP notice. This event is free and open to the public. A light lunch will be served. The CAP sometimes has fewer lunches than attendees. Location: CAP, 10th floor, 1333 H St., NW.

6:00 - 8:30 PM. The Public Knowledge will host a fundraising event titled "Public Knowledge IP3 Awards". The price to attend is $35. Location: Eastern Market, North Hall, 225 7th St., SE.

Deadline to submit initial comments to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) regarding competitive bidding procedures for Auction 91. This auction, which is scheduled to commence on March 29, 2011, pertains to FM Broadcast Construction Permits. See, September 21, 2010, FCC Public Notice (DA 10-1711 in AU Docket No. 10-183) and notice in the Federal Register, October 6, 2010, Vol. 75, No. 193, at Pages 61752-61756.

8:00 AM - 3:00 PM. The Department of Homeland Security's (DHS) Homeland Security Advisory Council (HSAC) will hold a closed meeting. The agenda includes "Lessons Learned from the cyber exercise". See, notice in the Federal Register, September 27, 2010, Vol. 75, No. 186, at Page 59278. Location: DHS Headquarters, Nebraska Avenue Complex.

8:30 AM - 2:30 PM. Day two of a two day meeting of the Department of Commerce's (DOC) National Institute of Standards and Technology's (NIST) Visiting Committee on Advanced Technology. See, notice in the Federal Register, September 29, 2010, Vol. 75, No. 188, at Pages 60082-60083. Location: NIST, Portrait Room, Administration Building, Gaithersburg, MD.

9:30 AM. The U.S. Court of Appeals (DCCir) will hear oral argument in MetroPCS California v. FCC, App. Ct. No. 10-1003. Judges Brown, Griffith and Kavanaugh will preside. See, FCC's brief [PDF]. Location: Courtroom 11, Prettyman Courthouse, 333 Constitution Ave.,  NW.

10:00 AM - 4:00 PM. Day three of a three day meeting of the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission to consider drafts of material for its 2010 Annual Report to the Congress. See, notice in the Federal Register, August 10, 2010, Vol. 75, No. 153, at Page 48412. Location: Room 231, Hall of States, 444 North Capitol St., NW.

10:00 - 11:30 AM and 1:00 - 2:30 PM. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) will hold initial usability test sessions for its proposed Consolidated Licensing System (CLS). See, notice. Location: FCC, Room TW-B445b/c, 445 12th St., SW.

10:30 AM. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) will hold an event titled "open meeting". The agenda [PDF] states that the FCC is scheduled to (1) adopt a NPRM regulating the billing and notice practices of mobile carriers, (2) adopt a NPRM to expand universal service subsidies to cover certain 3G and next generation wireless services, and (3) a Report and Order amending the FCC's CableCARD rules. Location: FCC, Commission Meeting Room, 445 12th St., SW.

2:00 PM. The Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) Advisory Committee on Diversity for Communications in the Digital Age will meet. See, notice in the Federal Register, September 30, 2010, Vol. 75, No. 189, at Pages 60458. Location: FCC, 445 12th St., SW.

2:40 PM. The Federal Trade Commission's (FTC) Bureau of Economics will host a presentation by Wallace Mullin (George Washington University Department of Economics). For more information, contact Loren Smith at lsmith2 at ftc dot gov or Tammy John at tjohn at ftc dot gov. Location: ground floor Conference Center, 601 New Jersey Ave., NW.

6:00 - 8:00 PM. The Federal Communications Bar Association's (FCBA) Young Lawyers Committee will host an event titled "Young Lawyers Pre-Charity Auction Happy Hour". For more information, contact Mark Brennan at mark dot brennan at hoganlovells dot com. Location: 14K Restaurant, 1001 14th St., NW.

Deadline to submit reply comments to the The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) regarding bidding procedures for Auction 90, regarding certain VHF construction permits. See, FCC Public Notice (DA 10-1351 in AU Docket No. 10-147) and notice in the Federal Register, September 23, 2010, Vol. 75, No. 184, at Pages 57947-57952. The auction is scheduled to commence on February 15, 2010.

9:00 - 10:30 AM. The New America Foundation (NAF) will host an event titled "Opening up Technology in Service of Teaching: What it Will Take". The speakers will be Tim Vollmer (Creative Commons), Lynne Munson (Common Core), Michael Levine (Joan Ganz Cooney Center), Mark Osborne (Albany Senior High School, New Zealand), Lisa Guernsey (NAF), and Sascha Meinrath (NAF). See, notice. Coffee will be served. Location: NAF, Suite 400, 1899 L St., NW.

12:15 PM. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) will host an event titled "The Commissioners' Media Legal Advisors: Current Media Law Issues". The speakers will be Sherrese Smith (office of Chairman Julius Genachowski), Josh Cinelli (Michael Copps), Rosemary Harold (Robert McDowell), Dave Grimaldi (Mignon Clyburn), and Brad Gillen (Meredith Baker). The FCBA asserts sponsorship. Reporters may be barred. Location: Wiley Rein, 1776 K St.,  NW.

Deadline to submit comments to the Department of Commerce's (DOC) Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) regarding its proposed "Best Practices for Transit, Transshipment, and Reexport of Items Subject to the Export Administration Regulations". See, notice in the Federal Register, September 1, 2010, Vol. 75, No. 169, at Pages 53639-53640.

1:30 - 4:30 PM. The Department of Homeland Security's (DHS) National Infrastructure Advisory Council (NIAC) will meet. See, notice in the Federal Register, October 4, 2010, Vol. 75, No. 191, at Pages 61160-61161. Location: Hilton Washington Embassy Row, 2015 Massachusetts Ave, NW.

6:00 - 8:15 PM. The Federal Communications Bar Association (FCBA) will host an event titled "Incentive Auctions -- If Congress Grants the FCC Authority to Conduct Incentive Auctions, What's Next?". CLE credits. Prices vary. Reporters may be barred. Location: Wiley Rein, 1776 K St.,  NW.

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