Broadband plan needs more detail to provide transparency

The federal government needs to develop timelines and performance measures for expanding broadband access to rural and underserved areas if it wants to provide transparency and accountability, according to a report the Government Accountability Office released on Wednesday.

The report outlines the status of the government's effort to establish universal broadband Internet access and recommends how the Obama administration could extract the most value from the more than $7 billion set aside in the economic stimulus package to expand broadband access to rural and underserved areas. The availability of broadband access in the United States compared with other developed countries has fallen significantly since the start of the decade.

"Bringing this infrastructure to the remaining unserved or underserved regions will, by most estimates, cost tens of billions of dollars and will likely require federal investment because of the low profit potential in these areas," GAO reported.

The Recovery Act provides funding for both the Rural Development Utilities Program and the National Telecommunications and Information Administration to distribute in the form of grants and loans to organizations and communities seeking broadband access. The law included additional funding for the NTIA to map the nation's broadband infrastructure and for the Federal Communications Commission to develop a national plan for broadband deployment.

"These efforts will help guide federal involvement in deploying broadband in the coming years," the report stated. "Additionally, the efforts complement each other. NTIA's data will allow all agencies to identify and cost-effectively target federal funds to the areas with the largest unserved or underserved populations and will inform the plan developed by FCC."

The report recommends the FCC chairman consult the secretary of the Agriculture Department and the assistant secretary of the Commerce Department when developing the broadband deployment plan, which should include specific performance goals and time frames to ensure transparency and accountability. The plan also should outline the specific roles and responsibilities of the various agencies involved in broadband deployment.

In response, FCC generally agreed with the report's recommendations.