The state of broadband internet and internet service providers (ISPs) in the United States has garnered a lot of attention over the last year thanks to the debate over ‘net neutrality’. The White House recently came out in support of increasing US broadband speeds and reducing its cost at the same time. To this end, the President will unveil a series of initiatives aimed at opening up choice and competition, dropping the price of high-speed internet and opening up better connection speeds to millions of Americans.
The first step, as outlined in a new White House report, is to get rid of state laws that favour the big broadband players, and stifle new competition:
“19 states currently have barriers in place limiting community broadband and protecting incumbent providers from competition. President Obama believes that there should be a level playing field for community-based solutions and is announcing today a series of steps that the Administration will be taking to foster consumer and community choice.”
The first step will be the Administration filing a letter with the FCC asking it to address these laws — something the FCC is already looking at doing.
In addition, the report also calls on the federal government to remove “all unnecessary regulatory and policy barriers to broadband build-out and competition, and [the President] is establishing a new Broadband Opportunity Council of over a dozen government agencies with the singular goal of speeding up broadband deployment and promoting adoptions for our citizens.”
