Cat Blake, Policy and Program Manager cblake@nextcenturycities

1. Cat Blake, Policy and Program Manager cblake@nextcenturycities.org What can states do to promote rural broadband access?

2. Proactive policies Dig Once • Cuts costs • Promotes competition • Minimizes disruption

3. Proactive policies One Touch Make Ready (“Climb Once”) • Cuts costs • Promotes competition • Streamlines deployment timeline

4. Keeping all options on the table Image courtesy of MuniNetworks.org

5. Success stories

6. Success stories

7. Success stories

8. Success stories

9. Preserve and promote local choice Municipal broadband networks • Across the U.S., about 500 municipal networks connect communities that otherwise had been left behind • 26 states have laws that roadblock or outright bar municipal networks

10. Preserve and promote local choice Cooperatives • Across the U.S., over 100 cooperatives connect communities to gigabit broadband • Electric and telephone cooperatives were built to serve rural communities that weren’t invested in by commercial providers

11. Preserve and promote local choice Small cells & 5G • 5G is only realistic in select markets • Local leaders are widely supportive of 5G investment • Collaboration between municipalities and vendors will help ensure smooth and equitable deployment • There are 22 state laws - and an additional 5 that are pending - that strip local control over small cell deployment

12. Supportive state actions • Grant and loan programs (that are supportive of local solutions) • Mapping and data collection • Coordination and collaboration with municipal and federal efforts • Include broadband access in other state-level conversations, such as economic development, education, and healthcare

13. Federal policies • Infrastructure bill • Broadening eligible service areas • Creating carve-outs for areas served by a provider that has received federal funds in the past • Mapping

14. Cat Blake, Policy and Program Manager cblake@nextcenturycities.org nextcenturycities.org