Benton Institute for Broadband and Society report…

House Reps Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA) and Robert Latta (R-OH), along with Sens Roger Wicker (R-MS) and John Thune (R-SD), sent a letter to Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Communications and Information Alan Davidson outlining their priorities for implementation of the National Telecommunications and Information Administration’s (NTIA’s) Infrastructure and Jobs Act (IIJA) broadband programs. The legislators call on the NTIA to:

• Commit to using the FCC’s new broadband maps, once challenges are resolved, for the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment program and not rely on other data sources to supplement or substitute these maps;

• Follow the IIJA’s directions on eligible project areas to avoid overbuilding;

• Provide an equal opportunity for all broadband providers to compete for grants by not prioritizing municipal networks or networks run by nonprofits or cooperatives, and not favoring certain broadband technologies over others;

• Avoid unnecessary requirements, such as net neutrality, burdensome labor regulations, and rate regulation;

• Commit to transparency by allowing the public to provide input and review how the agency arrives at its decisions.