A total of 55 companies and non-profit organizations, including industry giants like Verizon as well as consumer advocacy outfits like Free Press, have joined together to sign a "call to action for a national broadband strategy." According to the latest OECD data, the United States ranks fifteenth in broadband penetration and twenty-first in price paid per megabit, in large part thanks to no national broadband plan. Group members are meeting in DC today in the hopes of changing that, though at the moment their goals remain rather broad, and are clearly aimed at just getting everyone to the table (incessant squabbling comes later):"What’s most remarkable about this initiative is that so large and diverse a group of organizations agreed not only on the terms of our call to action statement, but also to continue to work together to build consensus on the substance of a national broadband strategy," Attorney and muni-expert Jim Baller (who we've interviewed) said in a statement. What will be more remarkable is actually bridging the stark differences in opinion that are responsible for this lack of policy in the first place.

The fight over whether broadband should see broader government involvement has always ended in gridlock. That gridlock benefits large carriers, who don't want new regulation, are resistant to consumer protection laws, don't want to see increased competition and refuse to be forced to deploy into less profitable areas. In fact, carriers have been so concerned about progressive new national deployment policies, they've been trying to pre-empt them through bogus national deployment plans that look good, but function primarily to protect their interests.

At the root of this dysfunction is an American regulatory system that's far too cozy with lobbyists for the major carriers, versus a consumer advocacy movement that's increasingly marginalized, under funded and under-represented. Can this new coalition change any of this? It doesn't appear to be on their action item list.