On Wednesday
October 28, 2015, the Subcommittee on Communications and Technology within the
House Energy and Commerce Committee will hold a hearing on “Breaking Down
Barriers to Broadband Infrastructure Deployment.” The hearing
will focus on the bipartisan draft legislation introduced by Chairman Greg
Walden (R-OR) and Ranking Member Anna Eshoo (D-CA) entitled “The Broadband
Conduit Deployment Act of 2015.”
The proposal would
require State governments to evaluate the need for broadband conduit with
respect to covered highway construction projects. If there is any anticipated
need in the next 15 years, the legislation would implement a so-called “dig
once” policy. Along highways where conduit is needed, the Department of
Transportation will install “an appropriate number of broadband conduits” at a
size that is “consistent with industry best practices and is sufficient to
accommodate potential demand.” With this legislation, the construction costs of
digging up hard surfaces along highways to install conduit will only be
incurred once.
If adopted, this
proposal should increase broadband deployment, investment, and innovation, and consumers
will reap the benefits. In Ranking Member Eshoo’s press release, she cited a GAO
report which found that “dig once” policies save roughly 25 to 33 percent in
construction costs in urban areas and roughly 16 percent in rural areas. By
reducing the costs of broadband deployment for ISPs, this legislation will
avail resources for other innovative services.
Additionally, this
legislation could play a key role in providing next-generation broadband access
to rural areas and ending or reducing a “digital divide” between rural and
non-rural areas. Because this proposal would lower the costs of deploying
Internet access, broadband providers will be more inclined to invest in small
towns and upgrade old networks. This legislation will also pave the way for
more cell towers in remote areas to deliver faster mobile broadband to the
consumers who depend on it. To the extent there are any legitimate federalism concerns,
they should be resolved as the legislation moves forward.
This legislation
is important to spur even further broadband deployment in the United States and
has been on the table for several years. Ranking Member Eshoo deserves credit
for her determination. She introduced similar legislation in 2009 and 2011, but
hopefully this will be the bill that gets through Congress with the support of
Chairman Walden. By lowering the costs to broadband providers, consumers will enjoy
more competition, better service quality, and lower prices.
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