FCC To Release National Broadband Plan One Day Early, at March 16 Open Meeting
WASHINGTON, March 10, 2010 – The Federal Communications Commission plans to release the National Broadband Plan on Tuesday, March 16, at its March open meeting, which is scheduled to begin at 10:30 a.m. at agency headquarters at 445 12th Street, S.W., Washington, D.C.
WASHINGTON, March 10, 2010 – The Federal Communications Commission plans to release the National Broadband Plan on Tuesday, March 16, at its March open meeting, which is scheduled to begin at 10:30 a.m. at agency headquarters at 445 12th Street, S.W., Washington, D.C.
The release of the plan comes one day before it is formally due to Congress, on March 17. The plan had been due on February 17, one year after the passage of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act within a month of President Obama taking office. The FCC requested and received a one-month extension.
In it’s announcement that its March meeting will be fully occupied by presentations on the national broadband plan, the agency also waived its normal prohibition on “ex parte” presentations in the seven days leading up to an agency meeting. Such ex parte presentations provide an opportunity for lobbyists and interested parties to address FCC commissioners outside the formal rule-making process.
Lobbyists and othere interested parties are still required to file disclosure statements about the contents of their communications with agency officials.
The FCC March meeting begins shortly after the conclusion of the monthly March Broadband Breakfast Club, which runs from 8 a.m. to 10 a.m. on Tuesday, March 16, 2010. The theme for the March Broadband Breakfast Club is “Setting the Table for the National Broadband Plan: Where to From Here?” The event will consider how the national broadband plan will be received on Capitol Hill. Registration for the event is available at http://broadbandbreakfast.eventbrite.com. Confirmed speakers include:
- Shawn H. Chang, Majority Counsel, Communications and Technology Policy, House Committee on Energy and Commerce
- Neil Fried, Minority Counsel, Telecommunications, House Committee on Energy and Commerce
- Brian Hendricks, Minority General Counsel, US Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation
- Daniel Sepulveda, Senior Advisor, Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass.
