News - October 16, 2020
INCOMPAS Releases New Broadband Blueprint Paper: How to Achieve Universal Availability
WASHINGTON, D.C. (October 16, 2020) – Now more than ever, local communities want and need universal broadband coverage for their students, small businesses and heathcare workers. COVID-19 has exposed deep gaps in Americans’ ability to access the internet, and it’s time for policy makers at the federal, state and local levels of government to take action.
In a new policy paper and Medium blog post released today, INCOMPAS is looking to provide a roadmap for policy makers looking to access federal funds and attract private investment. INCOMPAS, the internet and competitive networks trade association, advocates for broadband competition and represents local fiber and wireless builders as well as the nation’s leading streaming, internet and cloud providers. INCOMPAS is the lead advocate for policies that spur competition and local deployment, including “dig once,” “one touch make ready,” and small cell streamlining for 5G. It is also leading the effort to raise broadband speed benchmarks up to a 1 Gigabit standard.
The new paper, Broadband Blueprint: How to Achieve Universal Availability calls for Congress to act and make $100 billion in federal funding available to local communities. It also introduces six principles for states and local communities looking to kick-start their deployment efforts. These six principles include:
- Add networks, not fees
- Streamline deployment
- Internet for all
- Better data/maps
- Competition for funding
- Future proof networks
Download a copy of the paper.
Read the Medium blog post from Chip Pickering.