FCC Broadband Plan: Markey Looking To Legislate Portions Of Report
Democratic congressman seeks to mandate elements of the plan
By John Eggerton -- Broadcasting & Cable, 3/16/2010 4:54:42 PM
Rep. Ed Markey (D-Mass.), who was responsible for inserting the requirement for an FCC national broadband report to Congress into the stimulus bill, has already introduced a bill to mandate to elements of that plan.
The plan was just unveiled today (March 16).
Markey introduced a bill to insure accessibility to and privacy of energy data, and to develop national standards for accessibility.
One of the FCC's broadband plan's six key long-range goals is to insure that Every American" is able to track and manage their energy usage online.
"We've gone from the black rotary dial phone to the Blackberry, but when it comes to electricity information, we still have to dial-up our utilities and ask for information," said Markey. "With my e-KNOW bill and a new, American-built Smart Grid, the same people who work on killer apps for an iPhone will now help you know how much energy you use from your iFridge, iStove, or IToaster."
Markey, formerly the chairman of the House Communications Subcommittee is now chairman of a special select committee on energy.
Google and Microsoft (big backers of the broadband plan), are just two of the companies that have created web-based energy monitoring tools, said Markey, who said such tools could help save as much as $15 billion nationwide and reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 92 million metric tons by 2030.
The full text of the bill is here.
Most of the plans directives are either to the FCC or agencies within the administration, the FCC said Tuesday in announcing the plan, with only a relative handful of action items for Congress among the 200 or so in the plan.
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