Broadband Policy & Deployment Roy Lathrop NCTA NARUC Summer Meeting 2007 New York, New York

2 Cable Broadband Largest US provider : $110b investment in past 10 yrs; ~30m household sub Available: 94% of US households 45% household penetration 3/07 –but 26% hh w/o computer, 21% dial-up alternative access: hotspots, work, college

3 Not interested Hotspots, corporate and government users Available,

4 Broadband Deployment Ubiquitous Deployment –Nonpartisan issue: economic growth, health & education, news & entertainment Is the US “falling behind?” –Internat’l rankings understate progress –Total subs, growth, competition; density differences, etc. –factors beyond policy control: age, income, household size

5 State Broadband Initiatives (courtesy NCSL) CategoryStates AssessmentCA, KY, MI, OH, OR, VA, WY Demand Aggregation/ Stimulation AZ, MA, MI, MN, NH, PA, VA Pub-Pvt PartnershipMN, RI, VT, WY Rural AccessAK, AZ, GA, KY, NC, OH, VA Govt OwnershipCT, MO, NJ, PA, NC, SC, VT

6 Gov’t BB Initiatives Federal –Connected Nation Act –Broadband Data Improvement –RUS grant program State / Muni – define extent of muni service –State bills ’07: CT, MO, NJ, NC, PA, SC, VT –“barrier to entry” or fiscal responsibility?

7 Gov’t BB Initiatives Target unserved areas –tax credits and incentives for build out –any USF money for broadband –public-private partnerships –retain moratorium on internet access taxes –reform RUS loan program

8 Cable Broadband Speed – 1.5 Mbps Mbps standard Mbps tiers from many 100+ Mbps with “wideband”

9 Broadband Speed: is there ever enough? YouTube –consumes more bandwidth than all of 2000 Speed increasing, migrating downstream –the death of dial-up? –mobility What’s the next YouTube? –Multitasking HDTV + HD videophone + gaming

10 BB Initiatives: Ongoing Challenges Eyesores or salvation? free vs. $10–20 / mo

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12 Summary Broadband initiatives –Target unserved areas –Rely on market forces Broadband availability –Rankings understate progress