The War on Infrastructure Investment?

[Commentary] This has been an interesting couple of weeks in the area of private fiber infrastructure investment policies in the United States. It started with news that the Federal Communications Commission is sending out “SWAT” teams of FCC employees to preach the use of Universal Service Fund (USF) and E-Rate dollars to build government-owned and operated broadband infrastructure in rural and non-rural areas.

Everyone seems to agree that our country needs more broadband infrastructure investment. It’s high time the FCC got serious about policies that incent that kind of investment. Instead, sadly, they seem more intent on rewarding those who don’t invest and penalizing those who do. This may be a dandy way to enhance the power of an agency, but it’s ill-advised when one considers the best interests of consumers and our nation’s economic wellbeing.