For Immediate Release
Contact: Carolyn Just, 703-351-2015, [email protected]
Arlington, Va. (May 5, 2020)—NTCA–The Rural Broadband Association today issued the following statement from Chief Executive Officer Shirley Bloomfield endorsing the “Universal Broadband Act” introduced by Reps. Collin Peterson (D-Minn.), Don Young (R-Alaska), T.J. Cox (D-Calif.), Jeff Van Drew (R-N.J.), Hal Rogers (R-Ky.), Ed Case (D-Hawaii), Angie Craig (D-Minn.), Frank Lucas (R-Okla.), Lou Correa (D-Calif.), and Vincente Gonzalez (D-Texas).
The bill will expand the pool of eligible providers that contribute to the USF by including broadband services.
“NTCA applauds the vision of Reps. Peterson and Young, and these other leaders in Congress, in seeking to ensure that the universal service programs that are so critical to bridge digital divides sit atop a solid and more reliable foundation. Now more than ever, as we telecommute, educate our children remotely and try to stay connected with loved ones online, it has become clear that broadband communications play an essential role in our nation’s economy, and the well-being of millions of Americans.
“Unfortunately, even as the importance of universal broadband connectivity increases, the system that governs contributions to the Universal Service Fund (USF)—the program that enables such connectivity—has continued to erode and become less stable. By directing the expansion of the USF contribution base to include broadband access services—those very services that have become a primary focus of our country’s shared universal service mission—this bipartisan bill charts a course for steadier long-term support of the USF program on a more equitable basis, and it will therefore help to promote achievement of all aspects of that mission.
“NTCA endorses this bill wholeheartedly, and with this more stable foundation beneath all of the essential universal service programs, NTCA’s members are eager to continue leading the charge in both deployment of networks and ongoing delivery of cutting-edge services at affordable rates in rural areas. We look forward to working with Congress on this critical issue as this debate moves forward.”
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