Industry Uniting behind Broadband Mapping Bills
A broad coalition of industry, labor and public interest groups is urging Congress to adopt broadband legislation (S- 1492, HR-3919) before Congress adjourns, said a letter sent Monday to House and Senate Commerce Committee leaders. A national broadband policy “could have dramatic and far- reaching economic impacts,” said the letter, signed by more than 30 phone, cable and rural interests. The letter signals stepped-up lobbying to get the legislation approved before the 110th Congress ends.
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“I encourage Congress to seriously consider the coalition’s letter and adopt broadband legislation,” said a statement by USTelecom President Walter McCormick. AT&T, Verizon, Qwest, NCTA and major cable companies signed the letter, as did rural telecom groups eager to see broadband deployment widen. “We need better data” to help the U.S. get high-speed Internet to all Americans, said Communications Workers of America President Larry Cohen.
The similar bills have broad bipartisan support. The House passed HR-3919 Nov. 13 (CD Nov 14 p1), but the Senate has yet to act on S-1492, approved Oct. 24 by the Commerce Committee. Each seeks around $300 million in grants for local governments, public interest groups and providers to develop broadband maps identifying service gaps. Differences between the two bills easily could be worked out, Hill and industry sources said.
The bills’ provisions initially were part of the farm bill, but dropped out at the conference committee level. Several signatories to Monday’s letter had urged members to keep the broadband provisions in the farm bill, offering as it did the best chance of passage when so many other legislative initiatives are competing for attention during an election year.