April 15, 2026
Jonathan Spalter urged policymakers, industry to seize “defining choice” on broadband investment, network modernization, and permitting reform
Dallas, Texas (April 14, 2026) – Today, Jonathan Spalter, President and CEO of USTelecom – The Broadband Association, delivered a keynote address before a packed house at the Connected America conference in Dallas, TX, issuing an urgent call to policymakers, broadband providers, and community leaders to embrace a defining moment for American connectivity.
“At last count, broadband companies have invested $2.2 trillion since 1996 in ever stronger, faster, more secure and resilient networks — nearly $90 billion last year alone,” Spalter said. “That’s more than twice what our government spent to build the interstate highway system, put a man on the moon, and sling four Americans back around it just days ago — combined.”
Spalter’s remarks ranged across the central policy priorities defining broadband’s near-term future:
- Permitting: Spalter called for a common sense, three-pronged fix to permitting delays: cut duplication on previously studied infrastructure – in line with the guidance the White House Council on Environmental Quality issued just last week to federal agencies; impose 30-day shot clocks on federal land permits; and create clear off-ramps where delays become unreasonable.
- Network Modernization: Spalter praised the FCC’s unanimous, bipartisan vote last month to accelerate the transition to modern digital networks and called it a model for what sound policymaking looks like when facts, not politics, lead the way.
- Copyright and Connectivity: Spalter highlighted the Supreme Court’s recent unanimous ruling that internet providers cannot be held liable for billions of dollars simply for providing internet access – a positive outcome USTelecom fought for through its Common Sense Copyright Coalition alongside cable and telecom competitors.
Spalter closed his speech with a call to the broadband providers in the room: “The most important thing we can do to advance America’s Connected Future is for the people building these networks to talk not just to each other but to everyone else. Telling and retelling your stories about the schools and hospitals, businesses, and homes you are connecting, making it clear that the defining choice before us is not about any one industry or company. It’s whether the people who write the rules can move as fast as the innovators who build our networks, and the ever-scaling connectivity needs of millions of American communities and businesses they support.”
“Over and over, I urge you to ask one simple question,” he said. “If we can build it, why can’t government clear the way?”