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Secretary Perdue speaking

quote iconWithout access to broadband, entire communities are increasingly left behind in today’s information-driven economy. By connecting our communities, we are reconnecting Americans with one another and helping to ensure that everyone has the opportunity to benefit from this booming economy.

- Sonny Perdue, Secretary of Agriculture

Less than one-fifth of Americans live in a high subscription neighborhood where at least 80 percent of residents have a broadband subscription. e-Connectivity for all rural Americans is a modern-day necessity.

Unfortunately, 80 percent of the 24 million American households that do not have reliable, affordable high-speed internet are in rural areas, according to a recent report by the Federal Communications Commission.

Broadband Technology Opportunities Program (BTOP) grants from the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) enabled recipients to support adoption via outreach and training, but that program was funded only temporarily under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2010.1 The Obama administration's ConnectHome initiative targeted adoption among low-income families with school-age children living in public housing, but the effort was only an unfunded pilot.2 And, as noted above, the FCC and NTIA do not formalize adoption objectives within their strategic plans.3 The only sustained direct support to individuals is the Lifeline program, which the FCC recently expanded to offer direct broadband pricing support.4

Moving forward, Congress must work with the FCC, the NTIA, and other relevant agencies to establish sustained adoption-focused programs. That should include targeted pricing support where possible, both for monthly service like the FCC Lifeline program and potential purchase credits for equipment. Ideally, targeting support to low-income families with school-age children could ensure those families bring the digital classroom home. Similarly important are sustained support for training programs and capacity support in low-adoption communities. While the Broadband Opportunity Council has ended, the Broadband Interagency Working Group now meets in its place, with the goal of improving coordination among federal partners and programs, reducing regulatory hurdles that impede deployment, and raising awareness of available federal resources at the community-level.5 In addition, NTIA's BroadbandUSA Connectivity Assessment Tool provides a set of tools, resources, and technical assistance to support communities as they work to advance local broadband availability and adoption policies. The evolution and sustainability of this resource is contingent on continued funding from the current administration.6 The federal government can also help scale successful interventions by assembling and distributing local best practices, a recommendation echoed by the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation.7 Regularly updating NTIA's Adoption Toolkit, first published in 2013, is one possible approach, and one that would also require sustained funding.8

 

1 For the most recent information regarding the BTOP program, see the quarterly progress reports.

2 The White House's ConnectHome fact sheet can be found here.

3 Government Accountability Office (GAO), "Intended Outcomes and Effectiveness of Efforts to Address Adoption Barriers Are Unclear," GAO-15-473, 2015. Note that NTIA's position in response to the GAO report is that, because its technical assistance role to communities is purely advisory, an outcome-based adoption metric would not be appropriate.

4 For the full library of Lifeline-related information, see https://www.fcc.gov/general/lifeline-program-low-income-consumers.

5 The Broadband Opportunity Council's website is https://www.ntia.doc.gov/category/broadband-opportunity-council; the Broadband Interagency Working Group's website is https://www.ntia.doc.gov/category/broadband-interagency-working-group.

6 The BroadbandUSA Connectivity Assessment Tool can be found at http://www2.ntia.doc.gov/CCI.

7 Doug Brake and Robert D. Atkinson, "Comments of the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation in the Matter of Broadband Opportunity Council Request for Comment" (Washington: Information Technology and Innovation Foundation, 2015).

8 National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA), "NTIA Broadband Adoption Toolkit,"" 20

Donald J. Trump, “Supporting Broadband Tower Facilities in Rural America on Federal Properties Managed by the Department of the Interior,” January 8, 2018, Supporting Broadband Tower Facilities in Rural America on Federal Properties Managed by the Department of the Interior

Memorandum for the Secretary of the Interior

By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, it is hereby ordered as follows:

 

 
Section 1. Policy. It is the policy of the executive branch to use all viable tools to accelerate the deployment and adoption of affordable, reliable, modern high-speed broadband connectivity in rural America, including rural homes, farms, small businesses, manufacturing and production sites, tribal communities, transportation systems, and healthcare and education facilities. Lowering the costs of broadband deployment to rural areas can strengthen the business case for broadband facilities deployment and therefore amplify investments in broadband infrastructure. To that end, the executive branch will seek to make Federal assets more available for rural broadband deployment, with due consideration of national security concerns.

 

Sec. 2. Supporting Broadband Deployment. (a) The Secretary of the Interior (Secretary) shall develop a plan to support rural broadband development and adoption by increasing access to tower facilities and other infrastructure assets managed by the Department of the Interior (DOI), consistent with applicable law and to the extent practicable. DOI shall draft model terms and conditions for use in securing tower facilities and other infrastructure assets for broadband deployment.

(b) Within 180 days of the date of this memorandum, the Secretary shall report to the Director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy recording DOI's progress in identifying the assets that can be used to support rural broadband deployment and adoption.

Sec. 3. General Provisions. (a) Nothing in this memorandum shall be construed to impair or otherwise affect:

(i) the authority granted by law to an executive department or agency, or the head thereof; or

(ii) the functions of the Director of the Office of Management and Budget relating to budgetary, administrative, or legislative proposals.

(b) This memorandum shall be implemented consistent with applicable law and subject to the availability of appropriations.

Start Printed Page 1512

(c) This memorandum is not intended to, and does not, create any right or benefit, substantive or procedural, enforceable at law or in equity by any party against the United States, its departments, agencies, or entities, its officers, employees, or agents, or any other person.

  THE WHITE HOUSE, Washington, January 8, 2018 Filed 1-11-18; 8:45 am]

[FR Doc. 2018-00628

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 , 2020

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