March 1, 2017
As Congress begins discussing the possibility of making improvements to the nation’s infrastructure, there is growing support to include broadband as a core part of new funding and incentive programs. In a joint op-ed published in The Hill, USTelecom and NTCA – the Rural Broadband Association propose a simple roadmap to get more broadband in rural areas:
-
- Draw lessons from programs that have worked in the past, such as the Universal Service Fund programs that have been retargeted toward supporting broadband-capable networks where the market cannot sustain them.
-
- Solve regulatory barriers that can increase costs and cause lengthy delays that in some cases postpone promising projects for more than a year.
While significant investments have made to build out broadband, more work needs to be done to ensure that all Americans have access to these vital services.