News - August 10, 2021

INCOMPAS/BroadLand Statement on Senate Passage of Bipartisan Broadband Infrastructure Bill

WASHINGTON, D.C. (August 10, 2021) – Today the United States Senate passed the bipartisan infrastructure package that includes funding for greater broadband access and deployment, as well as important affordability measures to help connect Americans to the internet.

In response, Chip Pickering, CEO of INCOMPAS and co-chair of the BroadLand USA campaign, released the following statement:

“Today the United States Senate moved one step closer to our transformative “internet for all” goal that has the potential to bring faster speeds, lower prices and more competition to every family and small business across America.

“While there is still much work to be done, the bipartisan commitment toward improving broadband access, deployment and affordability is significant. While the FCC and Congress must continue to address the United States’ slow speed benchmark, the infrastructure bill includes priority language for building scalable, future focused networks that can support 5G - and only fiber can do that.

In addition, the middle mile section of the bill calls for speeding the deployment of new networks to communities. These networks will help attract investment and competition, which is the ultimate solution for broadband affordability challenges.

“I want to thank Senators Bennett, King and Portman for framing the broadband infrastructure package around the BRIDGE Act, insisting that both unserved and underserved communities have access to better broadband speeds, lower prices and competition.”