Deregulation is a big focus of a package of bills introduced by House Republicans to speed broadband deployment by clearing away red tape. And one part of that will streamline the permitting process for broadband service providers by preserving state and local zoning authority subject to reasonable limitations, like shot clocks and cost-based fees.
Investing in Rural Broadband
June 25, 2020
Allowing internet providers to compete is best for advancing rural broadband, says David Redl, former administrator of the National Telecommunications and Information Administration, and now Univ. of Colorado professor.
We must recognize that a pro-investment strategy, Redl says, requires the “alignment of incentives.”
“In other parts of the world, line-sharing for network competitors and price controls have been put at the center of network policy, and it has put a damper on investment in facilities,” Redl writes. “It substitutes short-term consumer happiness (a regulated price) over long-term consumer benefits (more choice and innovation).”
June 23, 2020
This week, little Door County in Wisconsin is expected to ease restrictions on the use of broadband towers as a way to encourage more investment in internet service in the rural county. Advocates of deregulation are asking for deregulation of all fixed wireless structures of 200 feet or fewer.
June 21, 2020
Broadband has held up better in the U.S. than Europe because of the higher capital investment here, the Tax Foundation says. And that investment is higher here because of a lighter regulatory approach.
“From 2003 to 2015, the United States invested almost twice as much per capita on broadband internet than the average European country in the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). And according to the Progressive Policy Institute’s (PPI) report on investment in the United States, four of the top 10 companies with the most capital investment in the United States in 2019 were telecommunications companies. PPI found that the top four firms combined for more than $54 billion in capital expenditures.”
PTA President Steve Samara testifies before Senate Communications and Technology Committee
PTA President Steve Samara testifies regarding rural broadband deployment on Wednesday, August 7, 2019.
PTA President Steve Samara testifies before the Senate Democratic Policy Committee on robocalls
PTA President Steve Samara testifies before the Senate Democratic Policy Committee on robocalls.
PTA President Steve Samara Testifies on Underground Utility Line Protection
House Consumer Affairs Committee Information Hearing on The Pennsylvania Underground Utility Line Protection Law on June 5, 2017 Testimony of Steven Samara, President, Pennsylvania Telephone Association.