About $6 billion of the $825 billion national infrastructure plan proposed by the incoming Obama administration is going to be spent on broadband, according to a brief synopsis of the stimulus plan be circulated today in Congress. That's considerably less than many consumer advocates had hoped for, groups like the Free Press pushing for a broad broadband package somewhere in the range of forty billion dollars. The plan being circulated is painfully vague about how this money is to be spent, saying only this:Speaking at the State of the Net conference this week, Obama policy adviser Blair Levin apparently insisted that any broadband infrastructure improvements in this initial broadband stimulus plan will be only a small part of the Obama Presidency's support of broadband development. He also insisted that any broadband stimulus system would be routed through "existing structures," presumably like the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s tiny Rural Development Broadband Loan and Loan Guarantee Program. But Levin insists the $6 billion was just the beginning:Getting that national policy right is going to be a tall order. Any real plan to improve our broadband fortunes, if done right, will create intense competition, and subsequently -- piss off very powerful incumbent ISP lobbyists who very much like things just the way they are. That's why ISP lobbyists have been working very hard at selling Washington on bogus national broadband plans that look good, but are really designed to prevent more progressive telecom reform.

Even if planned correctly, implementation and enforcement would be key. The government doesn't exactly have a great track record when it comes to following up on how subsidies are spent, mapping broadband penetration, or holding incumbent ISP feet to the fire when they fail to reach deployment promises. There's plenty of room for skepticism here until a real, substantive plan is unveiled and implemented.

As an aside, you can read the full text of the full $825 billion plan here.