There has been a running joke in Washington for well over four years about Infrastructure Week. Each time it was declared, there was some noise and efforts around defining what infrastructure actually was. Roads and bridge, sure. NTCA, however spent a great deal of energy educating policymakers in Washington on why broadband absolutely needed to be included as the Information Superhighway of the 21st century.
When the efforts around infrastructure initiatives kicked off again earlier this year, we were able to declare an early victory in having broadband noted front and center as infrastructure. After all we have gone through as a country over the past 20 months and all the suffering so many American families endured, if there was any silver lining to the pandemic, it was the nationwide recognition that millions of Americans lacking connectivity was an equity and economic issue and became a national priority. It was also a prime opportunity to share that NTCA’s community-based providers provide fiber connectivity to over 70% of their subscribers—far surpassing the networks of many large national and regional providers.
On behalf of NTCA’s nearly 850 community-based providers, I am thrilled, delighted, and excited that Congress has finally passed the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, which includes an historic $65 billion investment in broadband infrastructure. Implemented properly, this investment should go great distances toward connecting the millions of rural consumers who still need reliable, sustainable, and affordable access—improving economic opportunity, job creation, education, healthcare, and civic engagement. As policymakers at the state and federal levels decide how to implement this landmark legislation, I urge them to invest in future-proof, scalable technology like fiber, and to partner with small, community-based local exchange providers—regardless of their corporate structure—who have already proven their ability and commitment to build and maintain strong networks in rural areas. We are eager to see the bill signed into law by President Biden, and we look forward to working with policymakers at all levels to successfully implement it.
But now the work truly begins. The work of finishing the mapping effort begun by the FCC and states to really prioritize the areas of need. The work to help educate and support states as an unprecedented amount of resources flow to support their state broadband initiatives. The efforts to ensure that providers who claim support can actually fulfill their promises to their state broadband offices and public utility commissions. The commitment from policymakers to find solutions to our current supply chain challenges and workforce development shortages. The energy to find creative ways to build public-private partnerships to ensure that the expertise of community-based providers is tapped, and that risks and assets are shared in a way that really does allow us to fulfill broadband visions for millions of Americans.
Here at NTCA, we’re ready as well. We have ramped up the ways we think about supporting our statewide association colleagues and how we can support state actions and funding distributions. We are also thinking about how we can support our broadband providers and their efforts to create new partnerships and think also about adoption, digital inclusion, and affordability in the days ahead. I recently had a chat with Tonya Mayer, CEO of Hemingford Telephone Coop (Hemingford, Neb.). She shared with me how she had driven a trailer 300 miles to pick up a shipment of fiber to fulfill some of her current deployment obligations. I get that as CEO of a small company you have to be ready to multi-task but hearing that level of commitment and passion for getting the job done simply reminded me why NTCA broadband providers are perfectly suited to be a key part of closing the digital divide.
