Don't Base IIJA Funding Decisions on Provider's Status: USTelecom
Rescind recent guidance that "expresses a clear preference for networks built by municipalities, non-profits and electric co-ops," said USTelecom in a letter to federal, state, local, and tribal leaders Thursday on the Infrastructure Investments and Jobs Act. The Treasury Department…
Sign up for a free preview to unlock the rest of this article
If your job depends on informed compliance, you need International Trade Today. Delivered every business day and available any time online, only International Trade Today helps you stay current on the increasingly complex international trade regulatory environment.
and USDA's rules favoring these entities are "concerning" given their "well-documented propensity to fail at building and maintaining complex networks over time." Funding decisions "should be based solely on how best to connect unserved and underserved" areas, USTelecom said, "not on a provider's status as a public or private entity." States should also "think holistically" about their broadband plans and use the FCC's forthcoming maps "to ensure deployment funds go to their intended use," it said. Don't regulate broadband as a Title II utility, the group said, saying net neutrality and consumer privacy laws should "apply equitably across the internet ecosystem."