Chamber630: Broadband Coalition

Press release from the Chamber630:

Jun 10, 2021

As Congress debates an infrastructure program, the business community – specifically, the 700 businesses ofChamber630, urges you to enhance America’s digital infrastructure and achieve the goal of connecting allAmericans. The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted how critically important it is for all Americans, includinghealthcare providers, students, and government to embrace digital tools. The internet has helped keep the “digitallights” on for small business struggling during the pandemic.The pandemic also brought to light gaps in the nation’s digital infrastructure. Although the nation’s private-sectornetworks led the world in connectivity during the height of the pandemic, the last year demonstrated that toomany Americans lack access to high-speed connectivity. Government information technology systems, which manyAmericans had to rely on for pandemic assistance, crashed because they were woefully outdated.As Congress considers an infrastructure package this summer, we urge you to take the following steps inmodernizing digital infrastructure.• Embrace Public-Private Partnerships to Deploy Broadband: America’s private sector has built out the world’slargest and most advanced communications infrastructure in the world. Congress should direct funding to buildbroadband networks to areas of the country that lack access to broadband as defined by the FCC as 25Mbps/3Mbps. America’s connectivity strategy should embrace the nation’s advantage, the private sector, and avoidgovernment-operated networks.• Address Connectivity Affordability the Right Way: COVID-19 impacted millions of Americans ability to pay foressential services. Congress has already taken temporary steps to help Americans pay for broadband throughprograms like the Emergency Broadband Benefit. In order to address long-term affordability for those in need,Congress should undertake steps to modernize existing programs like Lifeline as opposed to pricing and technologymandates.• Modernize Federal, State, and Local Government IT: Government information technology is infrastructure.Unfortunately, too many government IT systems are woefully outdated and delaying economic growth. Forexample, many states continue to rely on 1950s era technology to address 21st century challenges like COVID-19and post-pandemic recovery. State government benefits systems crashed trying to deliver needed assistance during the pandemic and agencies continue to use paper tracking for pandemic and vaccine tracking. Government must first and foremost work to modernize its own systems with assistance from private-sector solutions.Investing in our digital infrastructure will enable the United States to better compete internationally, promote post pandemic economic growth, and better prepare for emerging challenges.

Sincerely,Laura CrawfordPresident & CEO

This press release was produced by the Chamber630. The views expressed here are the author’s own.