Palo Alto Congresswoman To Broaden Scope Of Broadband

PALO ALTO, CA — U.S. Rep. Anna G. Eshoo, D-Palo Alto, reintroduced three bills last week during Infrastructure Week to expand access to broadband — a topic of keen interest to the congresswoman, Silicon Valley business and web enthusiasts.

“Broadband access is an integral part of today’s modern infrastructure, and it is as essential to our economy as the roads and bridges that connect us,” Eshoo said. “These three bills will cut down on the time and cost of deploying new broadband infrastructure and empower communities to advance broadband deployment and expansion.”

The three bills reintroduced by include:

• The Broadband Conduit Deployment Act, commonly known for its ‘dig once’ mentality, is bipartisan legislation that mandates the inclusion of conduit— as in plastic pipes that house fiberoptic cables—during road construction that receives federal funding.
• The Community Broadband Act removes roadblocks for public-private partnerships and locally-owned broadband systems.
• The Clearing Local Impediments Makes Broadband Open to New Competition and Enhancements, referred to as "climb once" act helps local communities streamline the process entailed with attaching poles to make deployment of broadband faster, cheaper and more competitive.

Eshoo is a longtime advocate for broadband access for all Americans and has been a vocal supporter of net neutrality, which is being challenged by recent Federal Communications Commission rules.

Her vision revolves around expanding access to high-quality broadband, and with that, empowering local communities to deploy cost-effective solutions.