Broadband is the new electricity: interagency agreement acknowledges national need

"Broadband internet is the new electricity," said US Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack. The Federal Communications Commission, US Department of Agriculture, and the National Telecommunications and Information Agency have entered into an interagency agreement to coordinate the distribution of broadband deployment federal funds. In accordance with the Broadband Interagency Coordination Act, agency leaders pledged that they will consult with each other and share information about the distribution of the FCC's rural broadband programs; the USDA's Rural Utilities Services grant/loan programs; and NTIA programs. Each agency partner will, upon request, identify entities providing broadband services in a specified geographic area, the levels of service in that area (broadband speeds and technologies used), the geographic scope of service, and a list of all entities that have or will receive funds from these programs. The agreement also requires the federal agency partners to consider basing the distribution of funds from the programs on standardized broadband coverage data.