State Rep. Perone to Sit on FCC Advisory Panel

State Rep. Christopher R. Perone, representing Norwalk, has been selected to sit on the Federal Communication Commission's Intergovernmental Advisory Committee.

"I am honored to be selected by Chairman Genachowski and the commission for appointment to the IAC," said Perone, D-137, in a statement released by the Connecticut House Democrats.

The IAC is charged with making recommendations to expand broadband communications (fixed and wireless) into rural and economically depressed areas of the U.S., as spelled out in the FCC's National Broadband Plan released in March 2010. To date this has been mostly accomplished by developing incentives (such as equipment rebates) to get regional and even national broadband providers such as AT&T and Verizon to build out their networks into areas where such investments would otherwise make no economic sense.

"Given the importance of providing access for all Americans to telemedicine, business-to-business collaboration, e-government and distance education, being part of a group which will be making recommendations about how to facilitate these goals is something I look forward to," Perone said.

As per the FCC’s website, the 15 member committee advises the FCC on issues such as cable and local franchising, public rights-of-way, facilities siting, universal service, broadband access, barriers to competitive entry and public safety communications.

Perone, who was last December, is an interesting choice for the IAC, as Connecticut’s broadband infrastructure is thoroughly built-out and advanced by comparison to other states. He did, however, help author the bill creating the Connecticut Broadband Internet Coordinating Council, which tracks the development of the state’s broadband networks.

During a talk he gave in Washington D.C. last week, Genachowski said nearly one third of all Americans still do not have access to broadband (i.e. high speed Internet) in their homes.