Reps Pfluger, Dingell Introduce Bipartisan Legislation to Improve Broadband Access to Unserved Communities

Reps August Pfluger (R-TX) and Debbie Dingell (D-MI) introduced the PROTOCOL Act, which improves the mapping process for broadband funding and enhances interagency coordination when awarding broadband funding grants. There are currently over 130 federal broadband programs across 15 different agencies with little coordination on the billions of dollars being spent. This lack of coordination has led to waste, fraud, and abuse in these programs and risks leaving unserved communities without access to basic broadband services. Specifically, this legislation would:

• Improve and align the Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) Broadband Deployment Locations Map with the National Telecommunications and Information Administration’s (NTIA) Broadband Infrastructure Funding Database.
• Request non-mandatory reports on state-based programs for inclusion in the NTIA database and FCC map.
• Require other federal agencies to use the new FCC map when awarding broadband infrastructure funding.