Lawmakers weighed in Wednesday on the Federal Communications Commission's recently issued National Broadband Plan, and the deeply divided nature of the debate suggests Congress is unlikely to take action regarding the FCC's broadband authority any time soon.

The FCC's loss to Comcast last week in an appeals court case over network neutrality muddies the waters when it comes to implementing some of the provisions of the plan. The court decision calls into question the commission's authority over broadband services under their current regulatory classification, and some officials have indicated that broadband should be reclassified. 

Sen. Jay Rockefeller, D-W.V., chairman of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, said that if there is a need for new legislation to give the FCC a new framework for broadband regulation, he will take it on. The plan represents a "great start," but it doesn't go far enough to take concrete action for people with limited options for high-speed Internet, Rockefeller said during a hearing by his committee.

On the other end of the largely partisan debate, Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, R-Texas, the leading Republican on the committee, said the FCC's legitimacy could be called into doubt if it pursues its "aggressive regulatory posture."  

"In my judgment, if the FCC were to take the action Chairman Genachowski and his colleagues appear to be considering, reclassifying broadband without a directive from Congress and a thorough analysis of the facts and the potential consequences to investment, the legitimacy of the agency would be seriously compromised," Hutchison said during the hearing.

FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski, who testified at the hearing, said that he is confident the agency has the authority to implement the plan, but the court decision potentially raises questions about some components.

While the National Broadband Plan focuses largely on services for residential users, it contains provisions aimed at improving connectivity options for businesses of all sizes. Genachowski told the committee that small businesses in rural areas sometimes have few competitive options for high-speed Internet access, and those limitations impede productivity, competition and job creation.

"It's important that small businesses understand the opportunities of broadband and that they have real choices," Genachowski told lawmakers.

Broadband connectivity for enterprises could also be affected by the broadband plan, although this angle isn't discussed much publicly. Chapter 4 of the plan contains recommendations regarding highly arcane regulations for wholesale broadband markets, which affect the rates enterprises pay for access. The plan recommends that the commission develop a more coherent framework to "ensure widespread availability of inputs for broadband services provided to small businesses, mobile providers and enterprise customers." It also recommends reviewing the rates and terms for special access circuits, which some businesses pay for dedicated links, to make sure they are just and reasonable.

For more:
- see FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski's testimony (.pdf)
- read the National Broadband Plan

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