‘Dig-Once’ Executive Order Streamlines Broadband Conduit Deployment
President Barack Obama will sign an executive order Thursday that aims to make the deployment of broadband infrastructure more efficient and less expensive, White House officials said. The order encourages a “dig-once” policy for broadband deployment that calls on federal agencies to provide guidance to states for including broadband conduit during the construction of federal highways. House and Senate Democrats supported the administration’s order, which they said would promote broadband deployment with bigger savings for taxpayers.
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The executive order will require at least seven federal agencies to coordinate with carriers in leasing federal lands for broadband deployment, including: The Agriculture, Commerce, Defense, Interior, Transportation and Veterans Affairs departments and the U.S. Postal Service. The order aims to streamline and bring uniformity to the varying procedures by which the agencies approve broadband infrastructure on federal property, White House officials said Wednesday.
The order will encourage the Transportation Department to give ISPs information about road construction plans, to help them better coordinate broadband deployment. The administration estimates this approach will reduce network deployment costs on federal roads by 90 percent by minimizing road excavation and repair related to conduit deployment. The administration will increase the transparency of federal leasing requirements and regional tracking of broadband deployment projects by posting them on departmental websites and on http://permits.performance.gov. “Building a nationwide broadband network will strengthen our economy and put more Americans back to work,” Obama said. “By connecting every corner of our country to the digital age, we can help our businesses become more competitive, our students become more informed and our citizens become more engaged."
The administration will also announce a public private partnership Thursday aimed at designing and deploying the next generation of high-speed applications to support educational, healthcare, energy and manufacturing systems, White House officials said. The initiative, called U.S. Ignite (www.us-ignite.org) will combine the efforts of industry leaders, non-profit groups and the National Science Foundation to support the development of applications for ultra-high speed programmable networks. The Commerce and Agriculture departments will also offer increased funding for carriers to expand broadband networks and community-based services.
House Communications Subcommittee Ranking Member Anna Eshoo, D-Calif., hailed the “commonsense” announcement as a means to bring broadband connectivity to underserved U.S. communities. The order draws upon language in her Broadband Conduit Deployment Act (HR-1695) and an amendment she proposed for the surface transportation bill (HR-7). House Commerce Committee Ranking Member Henry Waxman, D-Calif., said that “efficient use of federal lands and facilities along with prudent planning of new infrastructure projects will promote the expansion of broadband with significant cost savings to the American taxpayer.” Rep. Ed Markey, D-Mass., said the announcement will “pave the way” for more broadband infrastructure deployment. “I've always believed that we should work smarter, not harder, and today’s decision does just that, making more efficient use of federal lands and roadways to deploy broadband,” he said.
Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., said the “common-sense initiative" will save “both money and time with limited federal investment.” He and Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., proposed an amendment to the Senate transportation bill requiring states to include the conduit. That amendment’s language is the same as the senators’ standalone bill, S-1939.
Industry groups commended the White House in separate statements. USTelecom President Walter McCormick said the order will “help the economy, support jobs and widen the availability of advanced communications networks.” TIA President Grant Seiffert said “timely access to federal lands, buildings, and highways is vital to reaching underserved areas and to deploying the broadband infrastructure of tomorrow.” Rural Cellular Association President Steven Berry called the order a “smart move and a good start.” He urged the administration to address policy issues like interoperability and access to spectrum “in order to truly meet consumers’ needs and demand and to move toward ubiquitous mobile broadband.”