July 12, 2018
Background: On Thursday July 12, 2018, the House Energy and Commerce Committee passed a slate of bills on telecom, digital commerce, and the FCC. The Advancing Critical Connectivity Expands Service, Small Businesses Resources, Opportunities, Access, and Data Based on Assessed Need and Demand Act, or ACCESS BROADBAND Act (H.R. 3994), requires the Department of Commerce to establish the Office of Internet Connectivity and Growth within the National Telecommunications and Information Administration.
The following statement can be attributed to Jonathan Spalter, President & CEO, USTelecom:
“The bipartisan ACCESS BROADBAND Act is an important and necessary step to facilitate NTIA’s effective coordination of finite government resources – dedicated funding which is critical to enabling broadband providers to connect communities in the most difficult to reach areas of the country and efficiently close the digital divide. We thank Representatives Paul Tonko (NY-20) and Leonard Lance (NJ-7) for their leadership on this bill.”