NATOA Urges FCC to Preserve Local Government Role, Protect Public Interest in Broadband Grant Program
NATOA has filed comments with the FCC regarding the role that the Commission should take in helping NTIA to implement the broadband grant program created by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. In its comments, NATOA urges the Commission to ensure that the explicit role given to local governments was preserved in any advice offered by the Commission, and that the public interest elements of the Act should guide any consultative action taken by the FCC.NATOA goes on to suggest that the Commission should adopt the definitions and guidelines first proposed by NATOA, along with its over 130 partner associations and communities, in NTIA’s broadband grant implementation comment period. These definitions are specifically tailored to meet the public interest goals of the Act while maximizing the role given to local governments by Congress.
You can read the comments filed with the Commission, along with a brief executive summary, here.