Clyburn: FCC plan not incongruous with telecom overhaul


Clyburn has for weeks expressed the view that the FCC needs to change the regulatory classification of broadband after the agency’s authority was undermined by the ruling in an April appeals court case. But the speech may represent her most emphatic endorsement so far.

“The reality is that I don’t think I could be a responsible and
responsive public servant if I failed to offer some thoughts on what has
to be the most heavily lobbied and currently watched item on our
plate,” she said. 

Taking on critics’ claims that the plan will create regulatory uncertainty and hinder investment in network build-out, Clyburn said it will actually pave the way for a more “predictable” administrative framework similar to that imposed on the wireless sector.

“As we heard at the commission meeting last month, under this regulatory framework, more than $240 billion has been invested in our nation’s wireless infrastructure from 1998 to 2008, including more than $20 billion in 2008 alone,” she said.