The FCC and the State of West Virginia are pushing for changes to make it easier for the deployment of broadband technology in rural states, reports Inside Alerts. Currently, the Mountaineer state ranks 48th in the nation for broadband availability, as 30 percent of residents are without broadband access.
While the FCC supports allowing municipalities in rural states to expand their public networks outside their territories, critics from the Senate Broadband Caucus say this violates many state laws.
FCC Commissioner Ajit Pai and West Virginia Senator Shelley Moore Capito met with residents of the state to address the low broadband accessibility rate.
“We discussed several solutions during last week’s roundtable, including reducing barriers to investing in infrastructure like fiber, streamlining regulations for wireless providers, encouraging public-private partnerships to improve technology, and ensuring accountability regarding taxpayer dollars intended for broadband development,” Capito said. “All of this would promote greater access and competition.”
One of the solutions offered by Pai was to speed up the permitting process to help smaller carriers compete in rural areas. Pai has also advocated expanding the number of broadband providers eligible to receive money from the Universal Service Fund, an FCC-created entity paid for by contributions from providers of telecommunications services based on an assessment on their revenues.
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