BDAC Archives » Dr. Jonathan L. Kramer on Wireless Siting & Law

Today, San José Mayor Sam Liccardo resigned from the FCC’s Broadband Deployment Advisory Committee (“BDAC”). This comes as no surprise to most of us in the local government sector, yet we’re sorry to see him leave.

When FCC Chairman Ajit Pai announced just one year ago his intention to form the BDAC as a vehicle for local governments and the wireless industry to work together to draft proposals for balanced local wireless deployment policies, we knew that the membership of the BDAC (hand selected by the Chairman) would tell the tale.

Unfortunately, the tale told by the Chairman’s lopsided selection for BDAC membership showed an industry-captured agency where the real intent was to top-load the Committee with industry players, while assigning a paltry-few membership slots to local government representatives. More: See this link.

Mayor Liccardo took on one of the micro-minority slots doled out by the Chairman to local government representatives and he really attempted to make something of it. For that, we applaud Mayor Liccardo, and hope the side of his head is not too dented.

Read his resignation letter, below. You’ll get why we know that work product of the BDAC is most likely (say only 99.999999999999% likely) to be a sham…and a means and justification for the Commission to adopt new rules based on the sham work product of the captured agency.

jlk

*FCC BDAC Resignation Letter of Mayor Sam Liccardo (San José, California). January 25, 2018.*

Press release from the FCC Chairman on 1/31/2017 regarding a new Advisory Committee:

STATEMENT OF
CHAIRMAN AJIT PAI

Re: Formation of the Broadband Deployment Advisory Committee (BDAC)

Last September, I proposed what I called a Digital Empowerment Agenda—a blueprint of policies that would accelerate the deployment of high-speed Internet access, or broadband, in communities across the country.

Today, I am excited to announce the formation of the Broadband Deployment Advisory Committee (BDAC), which will aim to provide advice and recommendations to the FCC on how to do just that. The BDAC’s mission will be to identify regulatory barriers to infrastructure investment and to make recommendations to the Commission on reducing and/or removing them.

One of the first things the BDAC will be asked to do is draft for the Commission’s consideration a model code for broadband deployment. This model code will cover topics like local franchising, zoning, permitting, and rights-of-way regulations. Building, upgrading, and deploying broadband networks isn’t easy, and red tape often can make the task harder than it needs to be. Similarly, many localities that have a strong interest in promoting a digital economy within their borders may not have the resources or expertise to develop and implement deployment-friendly policies. Consumers ultimately pay the price in terms of less access to next-generation services. Our hope is that with a model code approved by the FCC, one that any city could use as a template, the case for broadband deployment would be much easier, especially for communities that seek to proactively encourage it.

We’ve already filed the necessary paperwork to stand up the BDAC, with plans to convene its first meeting this spring. Two dedicated members of the FCC staff, Brian Hurley and Paul D’Ari, have agreed to be the Committee’s Designated Federal Officer and Deputy Designated Federal Officer respectively, and I’d like to thank them for their commitment to these efforts. But we also need your help. The Commission will be releasing a Public Notice with more details about the Committee’s work and an explanation of the member-selection process. I encourage interested members of the public to apply and to be ready to share your best ideas in order to help bring digital opportunity to all Americans.

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Category: BDAC

Mayor Sam Liccardo Resigns from FCCs Sham BDAC

FCC to form Broadband Deployment Advisory Committee