Trump Cites 'Intolerable' Connectivity Issues in Call for Broadband Infrastructure Improvements
President Donald Trump urged Congress to improve broadband infrastructure, citing concerns about a lack of connectivity in 25 percent of U.S. schools and 39 percent of citizens in rural areas. “It is intolerable to continue pretending that this is the…
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best America can offer to our students,” Trump said Wednesday in a letter accompanying the Council of Economic Advisers’ annual report. The CEA report cites investments in broadband and emerging technologies as giving workers access “job opportunities without geographic relocation,” potentially making “geographic immobility less relevant for labor force participation.” Even citizens in rural areas who do have broadband access “face a more limited choice set of service providers than their urban counterparts, and tend to adopt at lower rates,” the council said. “Access to broadband is key for modern private enterprise, and a lack of available infrastructure prevents investment in rural communities.” The CEA cited a USF revamp, loans, grants, tax incentives and changes to regulatory rules as potential tools for encouraging infrastructure deployments. The administration released last week its infrastructure legislative proposal, including a focus on streamlining the federal environmental permitting process, including for small-cells deployments. It included proposals for state block grants and federal matching funds that broadband projects could qualify for, but no dedicated broadband funding (see 1802120001).