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U.S. broadband won't need additional spend

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CIOL Bureau
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WASHINGTON, USA: The U.S. National Broadband Plan set for release this month will not call for additional spending beyond the existing programs, a move likely to garner support from lawmakers, a Federal Communications Commission official said on Wednesday.

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The highly anticipated blueprint will be "revenue neutral" overall because spectrum auctions will compensate for any needed spending, said the official, who was not authorized to speak before the public release of the plan.

The plan will free up airwaves for mobile broadband, seek to increase universal access and adoption of broadband, and create a nationwide public safety network.

The FCC has already said the broadband plan will seek $12 billion to $16 billion from Congress to fund an emergency public safety broadband system over a 10-year period.

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The national blueprint will also recommend to Congress that it can redirect the existing $8 billion universal service fund over a 10-year span to provide broadband access to the 4 percent of Americans who do not have it, the official said.

Currently, the USF is a U.S. subsidy program for rural and low-income families to gain access to phone service as well as education and health services. The size of the USF program is not expected to increase under the broadband plan.

However, the official said, the plan will say Congress could, with an injection of $9 billion, accelerate the reach of broadband to American households without it.

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President Barack Obama's economic stimulus plan allocates about $7.2 billion for broadband reach and mapping of usage.

The broadband plan is set for release during an FCC open meeting on March 16. So far it has about 250 pages plus an executive summary that runs another 30 pages to 40 pages, according to another source familiar with the plan.

Spectrum auction

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The FCC, seeking to free up airwaves in anticipation of a shortage as more Americans surf the Internet on their mobile devices, plans next year to auction a block of spectrum that failed to garner enough bids during the 2008 auction.

When asked if the so-called D-block is meant to raise revenue for the U.S. Treasury or promote competition among wireless carriers, FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski told reporters on Wednesday: "I think it's all of the above."

The broadband plan is not expected to include terms and conditions of the D-block auction.

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The FCC has said the broadband plan will recommend auctioning about $50 billion worth of spectrum held by broadcasters and other licensees that can voluntarily give up airwaves to the wireless industry for a profit.

Experts say portions of the FCC's broadband plan may need approval from Congress.

Verizon Wireless, a venture between Verizon Communications Inc and Vodafone Group Plc, and AT&T Inc are the biggest wireless carriers, followed by Sprint Nextel Corp and T-Mobile, the U.S. unit of Deutsche Telekom AG.

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