Rural Broadband: Taking a Broad-Scope Look at Fed and State Legislation

At the federal level, four bills relating to widespread broadband have been introduced. Take the Rural Broadband Deployment and Streamlining Act (S 1363), introduced by Sens Joe Manchin (D-WV) and Dean Heller (R-NV). It is meant to bolster the expansion of broadband infrastructure on federally owned land. If successful, the bill would also require a streamlined federal application process for expediting broadband deployment.

The most recent legislation was introduced on Aug 1. The bipartisan Advancing Innovation and Reinvigorating Widespread Access to Viable Electromagnetic Spectrum (AIRWAVES) bill (S 1682), was introduced by Sens Cory Gardner (R-CO) and Maggie Hassan (D-NH). The legislation aims to drive down wireless costs by opening commercially licensed and unlicensed spectrum space, while hopefully bettering broadband access in rural areas. In a similar spirit, the Rural Reasonable and Comparable Wireless Access Act of 2017 (HR 2903) would direct the Federal Communications Commission to develop a national standard for “reasonably comparable” broadband services in rural and urban areas. Since the bill’s introduction in mid-June, however, it has not progressed in the House. Also in mid-June, Reps Doug Collins (R-GA) introduced legislation that would provide tax incentives for companies willing to build out rural broadband services. The so-called Gigabit Opportunity Act (HR 2870) would effectively allow companies to front load the expensing of investments in rural networks within applicable zones. FCC Chairman Ajit Pai lauded the bill, which has not progressed since its June 16 introduction. And in March, Sens Orrin Hatch (R-UT), Steve Daines (R-MT), and Deb Fischer (R-NE) introduced legislation that would streamline broadband permitting in existing highway rights-of-way for broadband infrastructure projects. Called the Highway Rights-of-Way Permitting Efficiency Act of 2017 (S 604), the bill seeks to avoid duplicative federal permitting and regulations and other issues that cause project delays and cost-overruns.