There is a lot of talk in DC of working towards a federal infrastructure funding plan this year. So today I’m going discuss some of the latest news about infrastructure, particularly as it affects broadband funding.
Shovel Ready Projects. A few weeks ago the White House said that they only favored funding ‘shovel-ready’ projects. meaning those projects that have already had enough engineering and financial work done to understand the costs and benefits. The President said that he didn’t want to fund projects that would then take ten years to get started, something that is not that unusual for highway projects.
Size of the Funding. US Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao last week said that the administration’s infrastructure plan would be for $1 trillion spread over ten years. That’s the first time we’ve heard any specific numbers and time frame. There is no telling at this point whether the funding would be spread evenly over the years. Secretary Chao said the details of the plan would be released later this year.
Including Broadband? Secretary Chao said that that “the proposal will cover more than transportation infrastructure, it will include energy, water and potentially broadband and veterans hospitals as well.” This certainly tells us that broadband funding is not a sure thing at this point.
Probably Not Outright Grants. Secretary Chao also reiterated what the administration had said earlier that any funding was going to favor public-private partnerships and was not likely to directly fund projects. This has always been expected, but this doesn’t tell us anything about the nature of the support. There was talk during the transition of the infrastructure plan to heavily favor using tax credits, meaning that it would favor and induce large companies to invest in infrastructure.
I suspect the idea of public private partnerships for roads tells us to expect a lot of new tolls roads. Advisers to Trump have said they would rely on federal tax credits and public-private partnerships rather than federal spending to pay for a new infrastructure program. The concept of public-private partnership is a bit puzzling when it comes to broadband in that there are many states where local governments can’t participate in broadband or are severely restricted from doing so.
FCC’s Position. FCC Chairman Ajit Pai said recently that any broadband funding ought to be handled through the Universal Service Fund mechanisms since it already has the processes in place to handle such funding. The Chairman came out heavily in favor of significant broadband funding for rural areas as well as funding what he calls Gigabit Opportunity Zones that would provide tax incentives for serving low income areas.
Bipartisan Support for Broadband. In early February 48 US Senators from both parties sent a letter to the President supporting the idea that any infrastructure plans should include funding for broadband. My guess is that this is due to the complaints that all politicians are hearing these days from those without adequate broadband.
Democratic Alternative. And of course, since this is Washington DC, there is also an alternate infrastructure plan. Senate Democrats unveiled an alternative $1 trillion plan that would more directly fund infrastructure with mostly outright grants. Their plan includes not only roads and bridges, but also broadband networks, hospitals run by the Department of Veterans Affairs, and schools. In general there is a lot of Democratic support for broadband funding and the plan allocated $20 billion for broadband. I guess the trillion dollar question will be if this is a topic that might find some bilateral agreement.
What are the Odds? When it comes to Washington and politics I don’t have any better crystal ball than anybody else. But it does look like there is bipartisan support for doing something with infrastructure and even more bipartisan support to make sure that broadband is included in any funding package. It’s probably a good time for small service providers to make sure that your DC representatives hear from you. And it’s a good time for those without broadband to yell even louder.