The White House is coming out with a new set of recommendations aimed toward fostering increased broadband deployment, competition, and adoption.
Through the Broadband Opportunity Council, formed in March 2015, President Obama’s office has put forth a series of overarching recommendations.
The Council is suggesting the White House move forward with efforts to: modernize Federal programs to expand program support for broadband investments; empower communities with tools and resources to attract broadband investment and promote meaningful use; promote increased broadband deployment and competition through expanded access to Federal assets; and improve data collection, analysis and research on broadband.
Specific actions toward those goals include modernizing programs like the USDA Community Facilities (CF) program, creating an online inventory of Federal assets, streamlining the broadband permitting process, and forming a portal for information on Federal broadband funding and loan programs.
The White House highlighted progress already made through private investment and regulation but pointed out still existing challenges. Specifically, the Council notes that 25 Mbps download/3 Mbps upload broadband is currently available to less than half of U.S. rural households and that three out of four households looking for 25 Mbps broadband don’t have a choice of providers.
The Council also says price remains a big barrier to wider adoption of broadband services in the home.
“Lowering barriers to deployment and fostering market competition can drive down price, increase speeds, and improve service and adoption rates across all markets,” the Council wrote in its 40-page report.
In all, the Council provided 36 immediate actions that Federal agencies will undertake. Those agencies will provide regular updates to the Council Steering Committee, which in turn will report to the National Economic Council.
The rollout of the recommendations was met with praise from a variety of different interested parties.
“We applaud the White House for recognizing the importance of genuine competition in the broadband marketplace as a top priority in the Broadband Opportunity Council Report released earlier today. Not only does the report focus on the lack of competition in the high-speed broadband access market, the White House also recommends a clear path forward to ensure that consumers, businesses and institutions do not continue to needlessly suffer from a broadband economy plagued by chronic broadband access control. This move coupled with last week’s FCC announcement regarding the data collected on this disease, are the clearest signals yet that relief is on the horizon,” said Competify, a coalition of companies and industry organizations interested in promoting broadband market competition.
“WifiForward commends the Broadband Opportunity Council for underscoring the importance of Wi-Fi, powered by unlicensed spectrum, to our communities. Wi-Fi serves as a crucial on-ramp to the Internet, connecting citizens who have the fewest options for getting online. That connectivity is essential in providing access to job and educational opportunities, improving commerce, supporting economic development, and providing a sandbox for wireless innovation,” WifiFoward said in a statement.
“We appreciate the White House’s focus on speeding broadband deployment and, in particular, on the importance of timely access to federal buildings and lands for deploying wireless broadband facilities. Streamlining and clarifying federal agency processes and procedures can speed further broadband investment and innovation that will ultimately benefit consumers through new and improved services. We look forward to working with federal agencies to quickly implement the infrastructure goals identified in this report,” Scott Bergmann, vice president of regulatory affairs for CTIA, said in a statement.
