The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) recently released their much ballyhooed National Broadband Plan

The plan outlines the following six goals which the FCC hopes to achieve moving forward:

• Goal 1: At least 100 million U.S. homes should have affordable access to actual download speeds of at least 100 megabits per second and actual upload speeds of at least 50 megabits per second.
• Goal 2: The United States should lead the world in mobile innovation, with the fastest and most extensive wireless networks of any nation.
• Goal 3: Every American should have affordable access to robust broadband service, and the means and skills to subscribe if they so choose.
• Goal 4: Every community should have affordable access to at least 1 Gbps broadband service to anchor institutions such as schools, hospitals and government buildings.
• Goal 5: To ensure the safety of Americans, every first responder should have access to a nationwide public safety wireless network.
• Goal 6: To ensure that America leads in the clean energy economy, every American should be able to use broadband to track and manage their real-time energy consumption.

After releasing the plan, FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski sat down with PBS’ News Hour for an interview on the sweeping plan.

Initial reaction from some of the country’s largest broadband providers seemed cautious during a policy event at the National Press Club.

An editorial in the Washington Post found the FCC’s plan to be a bit more dubious and questioned whether government involvement in the Internet space is even necessary.

The next steps for the FCC plan will most certainly require Congressional action. Here’s an informative edition of C-SPAN’s The Communicators which explores what role Congress will have in the implementation of the plan.

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