Broadband Deployment Council policy subcom-3.doc

Comments:

1) Actual national leadership in the area of digital communications excellence should be directly and explicitly mentioned in the document.

2) We should note the importance of establishing metrics for the goal in #1 (above).

3) There are several references in the document to "high speed Internet." A better term would be "high performance" Internet. References to 'high speed" are often translated into a specific rate capacity as opposed to service quality. In other words, a link can be "high speed," but if it is congested because it is over subscribed, it does not provide a sufficient service.

4) There should be a reference to the importance of basic communication infrastructure. Although the infrastructure document will provide the details on these recommendations, there should be an endorsement of the key concepts here also.

5) The document is focused on general (commodity) Internet services. It should also note the importance of other types of digital communication services.

Also, this committee has noted that the State of Illinois should have a formal organizational entity that is responsible for communications policy issues. There is wide agreement that these are critically important issues. However, there is no formal focal point at the State level that is addressing them, although many agencies are involved at many levels. Fortunately, the Lt Governor's office has taken a leadership role in this area. However, this is not a formal, organizational process. In addition, the committee should endorse the continuation of these current efforts until such a formal process can be designed and implemented.

Joe Mambretti

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Shouldn't there be something supporting both private *and* public broadband ownership models?  Currently, we're ignoring public ownership.

Sascha Meinrath

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• revise the "get the state out of micromanaging" language
• add language about doing a telecom act rewrite ASAP
• form a select joint committee or blue ribbon commission to reform the telecom act; put world leadership in advanced high-performance Internet on its agenda; its motivation should purely be good policy rather than financial or political gain
• split recommendation #3 into two parts -- railroad ROW and utility pole attachment.
• [Note: Should we divide this one into three? Railroad ROWs, speeding multi-jurisdiction permitting, and utility pole attachment are separate issues.]
• any recommednation on utility pole attachment needs to have a disclaimer about maintaining safety/technical standards and should not the FCC's current investigation of the subject
• list a few more financial incentive examples (Joanne Johnson is the
• expert.)
• tax relief should go to users and providers
• add a recommendation about correcting market failures in the delivery of advanced communication service
• add to the tax section a comment on why it would be a mistake for the IL Dept of Revenue to impose an excise tax on broadband providers
• note at the outset that Illinois is competing with the world, not just other states
• note in the guiding principles that health, education and public safety improvements are all contingent on broadband policy reforms

Policy Committee conference call on March 20, 2008

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HOW OTHER STATES ARE PROMOTING BROADBAND DEPLOYMENT: State strategies