Sen Roger Wicker (R-MS)

Thanks to Congress’ work on the infrastructure law, America has the funding to make internet coverage reliable nationwide. Where broadband goes, economic growth and educational opportunity follow. But despite the federal government’s efforts, including decades of work and billions of dollars, too many Americans still lack reliable connection, an unacceptable fact in today’s digital world. The problem boils down to bureaucratic disorganization. Today, over 100 separate initiatives, managed by 15 individual federal agencies, have been deployed to address the digital urban-rural divide.

US Senators Roger Wicker (R-MS), Ben Ray Lujan (D-NM), John Thune, (R-SD), and Peter Welch, (D-VT) reintroduced the Proper Leadership to Align Networks (PLAN) for Broadband Act. The legislation requires the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) to develop a national strategy to close the digital divide and a plan to implement it.

Since Phase I of the Rural Digital Opportunity Fund (RDOF) concluded, it has become more expensive to deploy broadband due to rampant increases in construction materials, equipment, and labor costs. Given the challenges, RDOF winners—especially smaller providers—are facing, we appreciate your review of the following options:

We write regarding the Affordable Connectivity Program, an important tool in our efforts to close the digital divide. The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act provided significant funding for the Affordable Connectivity Program, which has already enabled 18 million Americans to access the high-speed broadband services they need. However, given the current rate of enrollment, projections indicate that the funding for the Affordable Connectivity Program could be exhausted as early as the first quarter of 2024.

Twenty-six US senators—led by Sens Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV), Jacky Rosen (D-NV), Roger Wicker (R-MS), John Thune (R-SD)—sent a letter to Federal Communications Commission Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel highlighting important next steps in ensuring that the National Broadband Map provides a reliable depiction of broadband availability across the country. The senators are calling on the FCC to:

To ensure taxpayer dollars are used in the most efficient manner possible, Congress required the Commerce Department's Inspector General (IG) to review the National Telecommunications and Information Administration's Tribal Broadband Connectivity Program grants and make recommendations to address any waste, fraud or abuse.

House Commerce Republican Leader Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA) and Senator Roger Wicker (R-MS) sent a letter to National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) Administrator Alan Davidson urging NTIA to address burdensome permitting processes and other regulatory red tape that may impede the success of the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) program that was created under the Infrastructure, Investment, and Jobs Act. To prevent slow deployment and the determent of investment, the Members urged the agency to require eligible states and territories to work with t

Department of Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo said that the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) would consider an area “as unserved until [it is] actually served” when determining areas eligible for BEAD program funding, raising the potential for overbuilding unfinished federally-subsidized projects. Not only would this approach undermine the success of this program, it would ignore congressional intent, waste taxpayer dollars, complicate already-strained broadband supply chains and workforce shortages, and leave rural America further behind. Moreover, it coul

Sen Roger Wicker (R-MS) participated in a hearing to consider the Department of Commerce budget for Fiscal Year 2023, which featured testimony from Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo. "Last year’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law placed the Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration at the center of our efforts to expand broadband access and close the digital divide," said Wicker.

House Reps Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA) and Robert Latta (R-OH), along with Sens Roger Wicker (R-MS) and John Thune (R-SD), sent a letter to Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Communications and Information Alan Davidson outlining their priorities for implementation of the National Telecommunications and Information Administration’s (NTIA’s) Infrastructure and Jobs Act (IIJA) broadband programs. The legislators call on the NTIA to: