The National Broadband Plan is complete, now the hard part starts

The Federal Communications Commission is expected to deliver the National Broadband Plan to Congress tomorrow, and today the commission released an executive summary of what the document will contain.

FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski called it, "An action plan, and action is necessary to meet the challenges of global competitiveness, and harness the power of broadband to help address so many vital national issues."

Some of the goals outlined in the summary include:

* Having 100 million households connected at broadband of speeds at least 100 Mbps downlink and 50 Mbps uplink.

* Having 1 Gbps connections in schools, hospitals and military installations in "every American Community"

* Freeing up 300 MHz of wireless spectrum for mobile broadband use within five years, and 500 MHz in 10 years.

* Establishing a nationwide wireless, interoperable public safety network for first responders.

* Collecting and providing the best data possible about each network provider's offerings so that consumers can better choose their services.

* Moving adoption rates from 65% to 90%.

"Based on the executive summary, it is clear the Broadband team recognized the importance of the mobile Internet to the economy and to meeting many national priorities. We applaud their commitment to providing everyone equal access to the most advanced wireless communications," said Steve Largent, President of CTIA - The Wireless Association.

Of course, completing the plan was just a tiny fraction of the work needed to improve the nation's broadband conditions.

"Now comes the hard part: achieving the vision articulated in this plan," Tom Tauke, Verizon executive vice president for public affairs, policy and communications said in a statement this afternoon. "Verizon will review the plan when text is available, and continue to work closely and cooperatively with the FCC and Congress to help meet the nation's broadband policy goals. It is clear that virtually all of these important goals will be achieved through private investment. So it is important that the policies enacted encourage investment and innovation across the Internet ecosystem."

About half of the Plan's recommendations are addressed to the FCC, and the rest are for Congress, the Executive Branch, and state and local government, who will work with the private and nonprofit sectors.

The full Plan will be released tomorrow.