Infrastructure Investment Should Target Unserved, Not Overbuild, Say Telecom Associations
Telecom associations warned against public money going to efforts to build where the private sector is acting, in recommendations on broadband infrastructure investment to the leadership of the Senate and House Commerce committees Monday. “Any new broadband investment program must…
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ensure sufficient resources to meet the challenges of delivering broadband to rural America” and “to truly realize universal broadband access by all Americans, in all regions of the nation, any funding should flow to areas currently lacking meaningful access to broadband services in order to establish and sustain such services,” said the letter, signed by ITTA, NTCA, USTelecom and WTA. “Adequate broadband services must meet reasonable and realistic service parameters -- e.g., with respect to speed, latency, and price -- and funding should flow to broadband investment that best meets national broadband goals regardless of the technology or technologies employed. To promote fiscal responsibility, funding should not be made available for duplicative networks that overbuild another provider’s existing broadband infrastructure.” The associations released an outline of principles. Lawmakers have been pressing President Donald Trump to make broadband part of administration infrastructure proposals (see 1702220054).