宽带机会委员会报告和建议

Pursuant to the Presidential Memorandum onExpanding Broadband Deployment and Adoption byAddressing Regulatory Barriers and EncouragingInvestment and Training August 20, 2015 Co-Chairs: Secretary Penny Pritzker, U.S. Department of CommerceSecretary Tom Vilsack, U.S. Department of Agriculture Table of Contents Executive Summary................................................................................................................................................................31.Introduction.....................................................................................................................................................................42.Broadband Opportunity Council Process............................................................................................................73.Guiding Principles........................................................................................................................................................104.Recommendations and Agency Actions..............................................................................................................125.Implementation and Next Steps............................................................................................................................27Appendices...............................................................................................................................................................................28Appendix A: Broadband Opportunity Council Member Agencies.....................................................................29Appendix B: List of respondents to Council Request for Comment..................................................................31Appendix C: Endnotes..........................................................................................................................................................36 Broadband Opportunity Council Executive Summary “Access to high-speed broadband is no longer a luxury; it is a necessity for Americanfamilies, businesses, and consumers. Affordable, reliable access to high-speedbroadband is critical to U.S. economic growth and competitiveness. High-speedbroadband enables Americans to use the Internet in new ways, expands access tohealth services and education, increases the productivity of businesses, and drivesinnovation throughout the digital ecosystem.” – President Barack Obama The United States continues to experience unprecedented growth and innovation in broadband andin the advanced applications and services it enables. While the benefits of increased broadbandaccess and adoption are widespread, barriers like income and geography keep many Americansfrom taking advantage of the economic, educational and social benefits of broadband access. Tomake sure that the Federal government does everything within its power to support broadbanddeployment and adoption, on March 23, 2015, President Obama signed a PresidentialMemorandum (Memorandum) “Expanding Broadband Deployment and Adoption by AddressingRegulatory Barriers and Encouraging Investment and Training.”1The Memorandum created theBroadband Opportunity Council(Council) and tasked it to produce specific recommendations toincrease broadband deployment, competition and adoption through executive actions within thescope of existing Agency programs, missions and budgets. This Report responds to that directive. The Council presents four overarching recommendations:1.Modernize Federal programs to expand program support for broadband investments. 2.Empower communities with tools and resources to attract broadband investment andpromote meaningful use.3.Promote increased broadband deployment and competition through expanded access toFederal assets.4.Improve data collection, analysis and research on broadband. To pursue these objectives, Federal Agencies will take dozens of actions over the next 18 months.These include commitments to: •Modernize Federal programs valued at approximately $10 billion to include broadband asan eligible program expenditure, such as the Department of Agriculture’s (USDA)Community Facilities (CF) program, which will help communities around the country bringbroadband to health clinics and recreation centers;•Create an online inventory of data on Federal assets, such as Department of the Interior(DOI) telecommunications towers, that can help support faster and more economicalbroadband deployments to remote areas of the country;•Streamline the applications for programs and broadband permitting processes to supportbroadband deployment and foster competition; and•Create a portal for information on Federal broadband funding and loan programs to helpcommunities easily identify resources as they seek to expand access to broadband. The Council proposes continuing actions in support of its mission, including monitoring agencies’progress in implementing the action items in the Report and exploring additional steps to further