Although the Federal government has numerous programs in place to provide financial support to aid the deployment of high-speed broadband to unserved areas, industry experts told members of Congress on Thursday that they’re not getting the “biggest bang for the buck.”
According to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), 8.3 million households lack access to high-speed broadband. With more than 130 Federal programs – administered by 15 agencies – to expand broadband services, members of the House Energy and Commerce Committee expressed concern over whether these programs are being administered effectively.
“It’s imperative that we take a holistic look at all existing broadband support mechanisms to ensure they’re solvent,” said Rep. Doris Matsui, D-Calif., ranking member of the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Communications and Technology.
Witnesses, including Jonathan Spalter, president and CEO of USTelecom, offered some recommendations to improve Federal funding for rural broadband.
“The question really before us is how can our commitment to universal connectivity be secured and strengthened for the long haul? Many challenges that come before this body do not have easy or obvious solutions, but this one does,” Spalter said. “And it comes in three parts.”
The first, he said, is that Congress should appropriate bridge funding for the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP) run by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) until a longer-term funding solution is reached. The ACP, funded by the bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, provides eligible households with a discount on broadband service and connected devices.
The second solution, he said is to modernize the current Universal Service Fund (USF) contribution system “to meet our universal connectivity goals.” To start, Spalter said Congress should give the FCC authority to expand the USF contribution base.
The USF currently collects money from telecommunications companies to fulfill the goals of universal service, but Spalter said it should expand to include the dominant Big Tech companies “that are the primary beneficiaries of the nation’s commitment to universal connectivity, yet do not contribute to the fund.”
The third and final solution Spalter offered is that Congress should ensure efficient and effective implementation of the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) Program – a $42.45 billion grant program created in the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.
“This includes streamlining permitting, minimizing burdensome rules to maximize provider participation, and prioritizing experience to providers – experience matters,” Spalter said.
Scott Wallsten, president and senior fellow at the Technology Policy Institute, agreed that although a lot of broadband funding is available through the Federal government, “it’s not infinite” and should be spent carefully.
“While state and Federal agency staff are dedicated and working hard, I believe we’re mostly not doing what’s necessary to get the biggest bang for the buck,” Wallsten said.
He offered four guidelines to improve Federal broadband funding: use competitive mechanisms like reverse auctions to distribute money; utilize comparisons between subsidized and unsubsidized areas to measure impact; focus broadband specifications based on what people want and value; and ensure subsidies are one-time only.
“Let’s be smart now to reduce the chances of these one-time subsidies snowballing into permanence,” Wallsten said. “We’ve put a lot of taxpayer dollars on the table, and I hope these guidelines will help policymakers invest that money carefully and efficiently, yielding the maximum benefits possible.”
