SHLB Coalition, Others Urge Trump to Back Broadband Funding for Anchor Institutions
Thirty entities called for infrastructure legislation to connect "anchor" institutions to high-speed broadband networks, particularly in rural areas, as expected (see 1705160019). "[W]e urge you to include adequate funding for broadband infrastructure, made available through an open, market-based application process,…
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and to ensure that schools, libraries, health clinics, and rural communities can obtain world-class broadband access to the Internet," said a letter from the Schools, Health & Libraries Broadband Coalition and 29 other organizations and companies to President Donald Trump. Anchor institutions are "gateways" to communities, said SHLB Coalition Executive Director John Windhausen on a conference call Wednesday with others. He said direct funding is needed to connect them in high-cost rural areas, where tax credits don't work well. Ellen Satterwhite, an information-technology fellow at the American Libraries Association, said investment in anchor institutions "leverages other federal dollars." Libraries have relationships with various agencies and others working on small business and veterans issues, she said. The FCC Connect America Fund does good work, but the signatories support allocating funding to another agency, Windhausen said. NTIA and the Rural Utilities Service did laudable jobs distributing broadband funds under the 2009 economic stimulus package, he said. Fatbeam CEO Greg Green acknowledged there was some "overbuilding" during the stimulus programs, but said projects fostered competition and lowered institutional costs. He said Fatbeam builds fiber networks near airports, hospitals and other key locations to maximize benefits. "That anchor tenant is so critical" and Fatbeam always connects it to a long-haul network, he said. "We don't want an island."