President Trump has signed
two new executive orders intended to reduce regulatory barriers to broadband
investment in rural areas, which he said
would “provide broader, faster and better” Internet coverage.
The first executive order was aimed
at streamlining and expediting requests to locate broadband facilities on
federal lands. In it, President Trump directed the General Services
Administration to complete a review of the forms and application process within
180 days. After the evaluation is completed, the order directs the GSA to
implement appropriate revisions. The order also requires that all Federal
property managing agencies use the GSA Common Form Application for requests to
locate broadband facilities on Federal property, and that each agency prepare quarterly
reports to GSA on the agency’s use of the common form application.
The second order directs
the Department of Interior to “develop a plan to support rural broadband
development and adoption by increasing access to tower facilities and other
infrastructure assets managed by the Department of the Interior.” DOI is
further directed to draft model terms and conditions for use of the towers and
other infrastructure assets for broadband deployment, and to provide a status
report on its progress in 180 days.
President Trump announced the
executive orders at an appearance before the American Farm Bureau Federation in
Nashville, Tennessee on January 8, 2018. During the announcement, President Trump
said: “Those
towers are going to go up, and you’re going to have great, great broadband.”
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