Broadband is this generation’s highway system, FCC chief says | Epicenter | Wired.com

Early this week the new FCC chairman Julius Genachowski, a former law school classmate of President Obama, toured California in support of the FCC’s ongoing attempt to craft the nation’s first broadband plan, putting in appearances at a San Francisco public housing project Sunday and a children’s hospital in Palo Alto on Monday.

While ostensibly a fact-finding mission, Genachowski’s trip — along with the 18 broadband hearings the FCC will hold before the end of summer — is intended to send a message that the FCC is planning a very ambitious proposal for the country’s IT infrastructure, a plan that goes beyond simply giving grants get YouTube and Twitter to farmers...