The President’s interagency Broadband Opportunity Council (BOC) seeks public comments on how federal agencies can promote broadband deployment, adoption, and competition. The USDA www.rd.usda.gov and the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) www.ntia.doc.gov within the Department of Commerce are co-chairing the BOC. The agencies are asking the public for input to help identify regulations and other barriers hampering the deployment of broadband.
The Council made up of 25 federal agencies was established by a March 23rd Presidential Memorandum to develop recommendations to explore ways to remove unnecessary regulatory and policy barriers, incentivize investment, and align funding polices and decisions to support broadband access and adoption.
The Assistant Secretary for Communications and Information and Administrator for NTIA, Lawrence E. Strickling said, “While Commerce’s broadband programs have made great progress in expanding broadband access and adoption, the Council is looking for new and improved ways so that all federal agencies can target resources and regulations to take advantage of this vital technology.”
The Request for Comments is looking for answers to questions such as:
- How can the federal government best promote coordination and the use of federally-funded broadband assets?
- What regulatory barriers exist within the agencies of the Executive Branch to the deployment of broadband?
- Are there specific regulations within the agencies of the Executive Branch that impede or restrict competition for broadband service?
- How can communities and regions incentivize service providers to offer broadband services, either wired or wireless in rural and remote areas?
- What can the federal government do to make it easier for state local, and tribal governments or organizations to access funding for broadband?
The deadline for submitting comments is June 10, 2015. Written comments can be submitted by email to BOCrfc2015@ntia.doc.gov.