CRS Issues Overviews on Tribal Lands Broadband Access, Deployment Assistance Spending
The Congressional Research Service reported on broadband access Wednesday: on tribal broadband (see here) and on federal assistance programs (see here). CRS said whether tribal lands get more funding for broadband this Congress will likely be determined "by the ongoing…
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trajectory of overall federal funding for broadband." It said FCC and Commerce Department data shows that as of the end of 2017, roughly 32 percent of tribal land residents lacked access to 25/3 Mbps, compared with about 6 percent of all Americans. It said key challenges for tribal lands are the high poverty rates and often rugged rural terrain. On federal assistance programs, CRS said if this Congress looks at further encouraging broadband deployment and adoption, a big issue is striking a balance between providing federal assistance for unserved and underserved areas while also "minimizing any deleterious effects that government intervention ... may have on competition and private sector investment."