The Next National Infrastructure Push Must Be Powered by Broadband

[Commentary] It’s been more than 60 years since President Dwight D. Eisenhower, fresh from World War II Europe and its front-row seat to the efficiency of the German autobahn, vowed to create our nation’s interstate highway system. Now, President-elect Donald Trump is pledging to invest upwards of $1 trillion in a long-overdue upgrade of U.S. infrastructure.

A new administration and Congress present an opportune moment to take a fresh look at how we build for the future. This includes determining what from the past we must let go. Many believe a major push on infrastructure holds out the greatest hope for meaningful, bipartisan progress. It is essential that this push include broadband. Shoring up aging brick-and-mortar infrastructure is essential to maintaining our country’s safety and economic health. But only by smartly connecting the dots between this largely analog effort and U.S. digital infrastructure can we achieve national outcomes that are truly transformative.

[Jonathan Spalter is president and CEO of USTelecom, the nation’s leading trade association representing broadband service providers and suppliers for the telecom industry.]