Thanks to the Internet, more goods and services are sold in Alaska every day, and Alaskans are able to market their goods to customers in the lower 48.  This is beneficial for small businesses.  Access to the internet has provided Alaskans with a means to get lower rates for hotel and air travel when they are planning trips outside the state.  Additionally, broadband access has eliminated distance barriers for education and medicine.

 

To ensure those benefits continue to reach as many Americans as possible, Congress should reduce any obstacles to Internet access.  One way to do that is to prevent federal, state and local taxes that drive up costs for Internet access.  During the period of the imposition of the Moratorium in 1998 and now, there has been tremendous investment, growth and innovation in broadband deployment and I hope this continues.