Digital Divide Funding Rollout Unlikely to Face BTOP Issues, Says O'Rielly

Congress is throwing “an unbelievable amount of money” at closing the digital divide and policymakers need to stay vigilant as the $65 billion is spent, said former FCC Commissioner Mike O’Rielly at the Incompas Policy Summit Tuesday. Just the $48 billion allocated to NTIA is equivalent to 10 years of USF high-cost support “all condensed into probably two or three years,” he said. “Follow the statute, follow the law,” he advised. “Don’t get sidetracked by anything else.” O’Rielly doesn’t expect the same problems as in 2009 in the Broadband Technology Opportunities Program (see 2111100081). “People are going to be on top of this ahead of the game,” he said. “Deal with the unserved population, those people who have nothing,” he said. As a commissioner he found talking to people who still had dial-up service “a tough conversation to have,” he said. Broadband maps will get “much, much better,” but “they’re never going to get to 100%,” he said. “We have to accept reality,” he said. He predicted the FCC’s release of maps could slip into the fall. O’Rielly said he remains “a huge fan” of satellite broadband. The key to being a successful FCC commissioner is asking questions and knowing the issues, O’Rielly said. “Dig deep into the subject matter -- it’s really dense,” he said. “If you can be convinced by a one-pager, then you’re in the wrong business. As a policymaker, you need get really deep in the weeds and know what’s going on and be able to challenge someone from the other side.” O’Rielly said he has stayed active and likes life since he left the commission, though he joked that leaving wasn’t his choice (see 2009300022). “You adjust, and you have no choice,” he said. “I don’t miss some of the mundane issues at the commission,” he said: “I made a little bit more last year than I’ve ever made in my career, so that’s a good thing.”