NCTA, Others Push for Senate Version of Rural Broadband Funding

Cable and telecommunication Internet service providers have gotten together to lobby for the broadband buildout funding provisions in the Senate version of the "Farm Bill." The Senate and House have each passed versions, now being reconciled in conference. That came in a letter to Farm Bill conferees from the heads of NCTA-The Internet & Television Association, ITTA-The Voice of America's Broadband Providers, USTelecom and NTCA-The Rural Broadband Association. They are particularly supportive of the Senate version's better targeting of broadband funding to prevent overbuilding, including where there is already federal funding via the Universal Service Fund broadband subsidies. The Senate version requires that areas eligible for Rural Utilities Service broadband buildout funds be at least 90% unserved by high speed broadband, defined as at least 25 Mbps downstream/3 Mbps upstream. NCTA et al. wrote that the bill "would better protect taxpayer money and direct that money to areas that need it most." They also pointed out that "the standard contained in the Senate Farm Bill is consistent with the standard adopted by Congress for the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2018 pilot broadband program that will be administered by RUS."