Advancing commission goals the set for broadband in the United States, including those laid out in the FCC’s National Broadband Plan, will be the focus of a new public-private partnership announced March 7, 2012, by the head of the agency.
The initiative is intended to drive collaboration among government and private-sector entities, including non-profit organizations, on broadband-related national priorities, said Julius Genachowski in announcing the plan.
Josh Gottheimer, senior counselor to Genachowski, will lead the initiative. Jordan Usdan, who joined the FCC in 2009, will serve as deputy director of the initiative.
The initiative will focus on making progress on goals outlined in the National Broadband Plan, including broadband adoption, digital literacy, technology and education, cybersecurity, public safety, job creation, and broadband and healthcare.
The latest initiative will build on previous efforts at the commission to encourage the public and private sectors to work together to advance goals set for the broadband. Those initiatives include Connect to Compete, a broadband adoption program with national digital literacy and low-cost broadband offerings; the Digital Textbooks Initiative; the FCC’s cybersecurity small-business initiative; Jobs4America; and a joint effort with mobile carriers on a new nationwide public safety emergency alerting system.
