Free broadband serves public interest
By BRIAN CHRISTIE, Published December 7, 2007

Free, ubiquitous, broadband Internet technology is just one good government decision away from reality.

When I make that statement, it inevitably leads to puzzled looks. “What is that you say?  How could that possibly be?” is the typical response. 

It’s actually quite simple. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) may soon determine how best to use a fallow band of radio spectrum. At least one company, M2Z Networks, has proposed to use the band to deliver a free, wireless, broadband service to 95 percent of the population.

However, before the FCC will allow M2Z or any other company to deliver such a service, it wants to conduct an extensive bureaucratic procedure to determine, believe it or not, if free broadband is actually in the public interest. The FCC announced its intent to enter into this procedure after 16 months of delay and foot dragging on M2Z’s license application. 

On behalf of many of us working to advance technology in the higher education sector, I emphatically say “yes,” free broadband will meet a pressing need and will most definitely serve the public interest.

Community colleges play a critical role in keeping the U.S. globally competitive by providing high-quality, low-cost education that is accessible to all. However, our nation is failing to provide students and colleges with a key tool required to access and deliver this quality education. Our international rank for broadband deployment is falling rapidly—we’re no longer among the top 20—and we’re now behind the former Soviet satellite of Estonia.

We need look no further than the Community College Times for examples of others that have identified the growing challenge. In the March 30 edition, Gregory Powell, president of Panola College (Texas), praised the virtues of broadband Internet while identifying the lack of home access to broadband as a key challenge facing his college and students. 

I’ve heard similar concerns from college presidents around the country who seek to reach the greatest number of students in the most cost effective manner possible.  Instructors also express frustration at not being able to fully utilize many online resources.

At an average annual cost of $2,300, affordability draws many students into the community college system. However, many students are surprised to find that a simple high-speed connection can increase school costs by another 20 to 30 percent. 

Lack of competition is clearly a contributing factor to this problem. According to the U.S. Government Accounting Office, U.S. broadband is a duopoly with 95 percent of connections coming from DSL or cable, and some consumers do not even have these choices. Big telecommunications companies are not solving the problem on their own, as we’re seeing with failing municipal Wi-Fi projects around the country. 

This is where a potential new entrant like Silicon Valley based M2Z Networks comes along. M2Z was founded by two successful technology entrepreneurs with a proven track record for consumer-friendly innovation. They enlisted the support of the same top-tier investors that have backed other innovative companies like Netscape, Amazon.com, Tivo, MySpace and Google.

So when a company like M2Z proposes to build this type of service, we know that it’s a serious offer. The Higher Education Wireless Access Consortium (HEWAC) endorses M2Z, and the FCC record contains letters of support from the leadership of educational organizations, including the League for Innovation in the Community College, the National Institute for Staff and Organizational Development (NISOD), College Parents of America, the National PTA and from non-educational organizations as widely diverse as the Family Research Council and the Rainbow PUSH Coalition. Hundreds of other local and national organizations support the cause, including over 50,000 individual petition signers. A handful of organizations opposing the M2Z plan include big telecommunications companies and their trade association proxies.

Free, widely available broadband would not be a panacea to all the challenges we face in advancing technology in higher education, but it most definitely would serve the public interest and could have the single most profound impact of any innovation for decades to come.

So, as the FCC meanders toward a decision on whether free broadband might be in the public interest, I’d encourage college leaders to tell their local lawmakers and representatives in Washington that free and universally accessible broadband should be the guiding principles for any rules the FCC places on the spectrum band being considered. At least one company is ready to make it a reality and the only thing that stands in the way is one good government decision. 

Christie is senior vice president of the Higher Education Wireless Access Consortium and also advises M2Z Networks.