Why we should insist on technology-neutral broadband infrastructure funding – GCN.com

INDUSTRY INSIGHT

We can all agree that nationwide access to high speed, reliable broadband service is critical. While connecting the unconnected has always been important, its urgency became even more evident during the pandemic when much of our work, education, socialization and even health care occurred online. In response to this need, the Biden administrations infrastructure legislation allocates tens of billions of dollars for funding high-speed broadband service for everyone in the United States, no matter where they are located. If the government is not careful about how it proceeds, it could waste tens of billions of dollars repeating mistakes of the past.

Today, a range of technologies terrestrial and non-terrestrial, wireless and wired provide reliable high-speed broadband. Yet some policymakers are seeking, unnecessarily, to limit the use of infrastructure funds to support only broadband fiber deployment. That is a costly mistake that could leave many users without access to high-speed internet for many years, or perpetually. Any funding made available through the infrastructure package must be technology neutral for four practical reasons:

By adopting a technology-neutral broadband infrastructure funding scheme, congress and the administration can avoid well-documented pitfalls and outcomes contrary to desired goals of broadband expansion. Only by doing so will they fulfill the objective of delivering timely, affordable broadband services to U.S. residents nationwide.

About the Author

Jennifer A. Manner is SVP of regulatory affairs with EchoStar/Hughes Network Systems, LLC.

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Why we should insist on technology-neutral broadband infrastructure funding - GCN.com