Review of FCC's National Broadband Plan Begins; Questions on Set-Top Box Language Should be Asked

The FCC's new "National Broadband Plan" is now beginning the process of congressional review, which may result in a number of changes. According to this B&C article, Republicans have concerns with proposed revisions to the Universal Service Fund and the FCC's proposed mechanism for reclaiming up to 500 megahertz of broadcasters' spectrum over the next 10 years. Separately, Republicans also object to the FCC's net neutrality proposals.

In my "first look" analysis of the Broadband Plan a couple of weeks ago, one thing I didn't take note of was a small provision in the plan to "change rules to ensure a competitive and innovative video set-top box market" Several VideoNuze readers brought that provision to my attention, wondering what it really means. I'm not 100% sure myself, but it would seem to benefit Google's new "Google TV" Android-based set-top box, which I wrote about earlier this week. Congress should be sure to question the FCC closely about its set-top goals.

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Categories: Broadband ISPs, Broadcasters, Regulation

Topics: FCC, Google