Pai Pushes 'Gigabit Opportunity Zones' in Iowa
Government should spur rural broadband by creating “gigabit opportunity zones” and pushing wireless carriers through spectrum license policies, FCC Commissioner Ajit Pai wrote in the De Moines Register. Pai is visiting Iowa and Kansas this week after outlining some of…
Sign up for a free preview to unlock the rest of this article
Communications Daily is required reading for senior executives at top telecom corporations, law firms, lobbying organizations, associations and government agencies (including the FCC). Join them today!
his proposals last month in Cincinnati (see 1609130061). Congress should create zones that bring gigabit service to low-income communities, Pai said. “Imagine if federal and local governments worked together to bring better ultrafast, or ‘gigabit,’ Internet access to low-income communities, from neighborhoods to entire counties,” he wrote. “Imagine if state and local governments streamlined rules to make it easier to install broadband infrastructure. And imagine if federal tax credits encouraged startups to create jobs in these zones.” Separately, the FCC should require wireless companies to provide more service in rural areas covered by their spectrum licenses, Pai said. “License terms permit up to one-third of those areas to remain offline.” Wireless carriers receiving FCC subsidies should better target underserved areas, he said. “We need to make sure that scarce tax dollars bring fast wireless service to areas lacking it, not prop up multiple competitors in an already-served location.” Pai urged Congress to set aside 10 percent of future FCC spectrum auction proceeds for mobile broadband deployment. The broadband proposals have received widespread industry support (see 1609140036) and some concern (see 1609150015).