Broadband Council Outlines Agency Actions To Help Deployment

The 40-page report’s four big goals involve overhauling federal programs to “expand program support for broadband investments”; to give communities the tools to encourage broadband investment and “promote meaningful use”; to expand the access to federal assets; and to “improve data collection, analysis and research on broadband.” The proposals come from council co-chairs Penny Pritzker, secretary of Commerce, and Tom Vilsack, secretary of Agriculture. Stakeholders from industry, Capitol Hill and elsewhere weighed in with ideas in recent months (see 1506120049).

The council laid out several steps in its executive summary expected to be taken by federal agencies. These agencies have committed to “modernize Federal programs valued at approximately $10 billion to include broadband as an eligible program expenditure, such as the Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Community Facilities (CF) program, which will help communities around the country bring broadband to health clinics and recreation centers,” the report said. USDA would try to develop new program guidelines by Q3 of next year and promote that policy to stakeholders by Q4 of next year. It listed a commitment to craft an online inventory of data focused on federal assets, including Department of Interior (DOI) cell towers. There’s also a commitment to streamline program and broadband permitting applications and to develop “a portal for information on Federal broadband funding and loan programs to help communities easily identify resources as they seek to expand access to broadband.” The Department of Commerce would issue a federal funding opportunity in FY 2016 -- with a milestone of Q1 of next year -- that puts broadband planning and deployment as a key priority of the economic development assistance programs. The covered government agencies include the Department of Housing and Urban Development, Treasury, Justice, Labor, and Health and Human Services, all tweaking how they deal with broadband to accommodate deployment.

“But to bring faster, lower price broadband into more homes will take more than the Federal government,” the White House’s Jeff Zients, director of the National Economic Council, said in a blog post. “That’s why the Administration is calling on the private sector, local, state and Tribal governments, community organizations and foundations to work with us to tackle some of the big challenges, like opening up critical data sources around the country and helping communities become ‘broadband ready’ to encourage more investment.” He promised more updates on the initiative to come.

NTIA, working with the White House’s Office of Science and Technology Policy and the National Economic Council, will “develop an index program that encourages advancements and investments in community connectivity,” the report said, forming a series of stakeholder forums in the process. Those stakeholders “will include private, public, philanthropic and nonprofit groups with interests in leveraging broadband,” the report said. The administration also stressed ways it can help outside of its own agencies, emphasizing the role of state and local governments. It highlighted the “Dig Once” policies and recommended expanding the administration’s Department of Transportation guidance “to projects supported by other Federal Agencies that fund infrastructure projects, such as the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), GSA [General Services Administration], USDA, HUD, and DOI.” Other recommendations delved into how the administration would help improve broadband deployment on tribal land.

“At the Commerce Department, we will play an ongoing role in ensuring that the Council’s important work is carried out,” Deputy Secretary Bruce Andrews said in a blog post. “Assistant Secretary of Commerce and NTIA Administrator Lawrence Strickling will continue to co-chair the Council on Secretary Pritzker’s behalf. NTIA, under its BroadbandUSA initiative, will continue to work closely with communities seeking to expand their broadband capacity through technical assistance, publications and regional workshops such as the Digital New England Summit on September 28. As part of the Council’s recommendations, BroadbandUSA will create a main access portal to link federal broadband resources, policies and grant guidance. It is also collaborating with members of the Broadband Opportunity Council on how best to move forward and implement key recommendations to improve broadband access.”

The report “lays the groundwork to build on the tremendous success of deploying broadband under the Recovery Act, which helped USDA and the Commerce Department expand essential broadband service nationwide. Yet even with this historical investment, we have much more to do,” declared Brandon McBride, administrator of the Rural Utilities Service, in a blog post. “Our work with the Commerce Department’s National Telecommunications Information Administration and about 25 federal agency representatives identified federal regulatory and funding barriers to broadband expansion. If we are to deploy broadband to the 50 percent of rural areas without access to high-speed service, we will need to work hard and work closely with our federal partners and private stakeholders to encourage buildout and adoption.”

CTIA Vice President-Regulatory Affairs Scott Bergmann praised the report for its focus on "timely access to federal buildings and lands for deploying wireless broadband facilities," he said in a statement. "Streamlining and clarifying federal agency processes and procedures can speed further broadband investment and innovation that will ultimately benefit consumers through new and improved services."

The Fiber to the Home Council lauded the report and is “encouraged that the Broadband Opportunity Council took the recommendations of the FTTH Council to help broadband providers and communities break down information barriers and deploy better, faster, fiber broadband that enables digital life in our communities,” said President Heather Burnett Gold. She mentioned the group’s desires to “promote comprehensive strategies to lower regulatory barriers while facilitating all-fiber network builds.”

Competify, a coalition formed by such stakeholders as the Broadband Coalition, the Competitive Carriers Association, Comptel, the Computer & Communications Industry Association, Public Knowledge and Sprint, also lauded the report. Competify thanked the administration “for recognizing the importance of genuine competition in the broadband marketplace as a top priority,” it said in a statement. “Not only does the report focus on the lack of competition in the high-speed broadband access market, the White House also recommends a clear path forward to ensure that consumers, businesses and institutions do not continue to needlessly suffer from a broadband economy plagued by chronic broadband access control. This move coupled with last week’s FCC announcement regarding the data collected on this disease, are the clearest signals yet that relief is on the horizon.”