 Broadband Technology: Promoting
Innovation and Economic Security
President Bush has called
for universal, affordable broadband access by 2007, and endorsed
policies to create economic incentives for broadband deployment,
as well as remove regulatory barriers to deployment. The
overarching goal of these initiatives is to lower broadband
costs to Americans to increase its use and availability.
A New Generation of American
Innovation touts
the President’s accomplishments in this area, including
signing into law the President’s jobs and growth package,
which allows companies to depreciate capital expenditures
more quickly; and signing a two-year extension of the Internet
tax moratorium. The President also has called for a permanent
ban on Internet access fees. These actions had long been
called for by leaders in Congress and the technology industry,
and represent very small steps toward the President’s
ambitious goal of universal access by 2007.
In the regulatory
arena, the President reiterated his support for the Federal
Communications Commission’s decision
to free new fiber-to-the-home investments from legacy regulations.
The President also signed an Executive Memorandum implementing
Federal rights-of-way reforms to simplify and standardize
the process for broadband providers to obtain access to Federal
lands to build broadband infrastructure.
Finally, the President
reiterated support for R&D funding
to help lay the foundation for advances in broadband technologies.
In FY 2005, the Administration has proposed $2 billion in
funding for the National Information Technology Research
and Development (NITRD) program. In addition, as previous
Presidents and Congressional leaders have, President Bush
has proposed making the Research and Experimentation tax
credit permanent.
For more information on any of these Administration
initiatives, and how they may affect your organization, please
contact us at info@techvision21.com or
(202) 263-0168. |
