A focus on closing the digital divide and expanding internet access has led to billions of dollars being appropriated by Congress. The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) included $65 billion in broadband spending, and previous COVID-19 bills have allowed for hundreds of billions more to be spent on broadband. There is a shockingly large amount of money available, but now it is imperative that taxpayers’ money is being spent appropriately and efficiently on those most in need.
With such substantial funding, there are several ways Congress and federal agencies can protect against broadband investments being wasted. This includes prioritizing funding for unserved areas and streamlining regulations. As Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Commissioner Brendan Carr stated, there is money to close the digital divide several times over, but the hard work is still to come.
A key component of prioritizing truly unserved areas is updated maps. Legislation to update and improve the FCC maps was signed into law in 2020, but new maps have not been released. However, while these maps will hopefully be a substantial improvement, they are unlikely to be unassailable. American Action Forum’s Jeff Westling points out the importance of a robust and efficient process to allow states and providers to challenge whether an area is served. Updated granular maps are critical to directing funding to unserved areas and ensuring taxpayer dollars are spent on those most in need first.
In a welcome step, tentatively on the agenda for the FCC’s March Open Meeting is “a Second Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking that would seek comment on questions concerning the allocation of pole replacement costs between utilities and attachers and ways to expedite the resolution of pole replacement disputes.” This is an important topic for the FCC to address. Topline dollar figures grab headlines, but the streamlining of regulations are arguably as important, if not more, than providing substantial funding.
Taxpayer dollars should be spent expanding service to more Americans, and the less money that is diverted for unnecessary regulatory costs, the better. Unfortunately, pole attachment disputes can be a source of friction. Utility poles are needed for deploying wired communications but a lack of access to these poles or the charging of superfluous rates by pole owners can serve as barriers to broadband deployment. It is encouraging to see the FCC further examine this issue, and notably, even with a 2-2 split at the FCC, Commissioners are still making progress addressing common sense issues.
Policymakers and federal agencies should also work to examine other points of friction with broadband deployment. Lowering barriers to deployment can help ensure the sizable sum of taxpayer dollars being allocated to broadband are not wasted or drained by burdensome regulations or excessively high fees. Regulation reforms can be more tedious, but if done correctly, it can help ensure every taxpayer dollar goes further in closing the digital divide.