Genachowski Ponders Government Version Of ITunes

John Eggerton -- Multichannel News, 10/8/2009 1:59:24 PM

FCC chairman Julius Genachowski talked Thursday about the possibility of a government version of the Itunes application store.

That came at an FCC field hearing in San Diego on mobile broadband and the applications that will drive adoption.

The chairman asked panelists to think about the value of a clearinghouse where best practices could be shared. He suggested that might be a way to spur the spin-off of public-sector apps from private sector initiatives and to prevent reinvinting the wheel, rather than tapping into what is already being done. There is not a lot of shared info out there, he said.

What is being developed: applications that do everything from monitoring heart rates and blood sugar to checking for greenhouse gas levels.

Rey Ramsey, president of One-Economy, which is working on getting broadband to lower income and minority populations, said that would be a great idea.

Genachowski also said that an FCC application for the iPhone was in the works, one of a number of new-tech ways the commission is trying to connect with consumers. It already has a Facebook page and Twitter platform and blog.

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