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Broadband Development

Broadband internet services allow customers to receive large quantities of information at faster speeds. Access to high-speed internet services allows for a wide range of educational, cultural, recreational, telemedicine, and economic development. The U.S. ranks 15th in the world in per-capita broadband access. 

Unfortunately, rural areas have difficulty receiving these broadband services due to low population density, topographical barriers, and geographical distances. 
 
On November 13, 2007, the House passed the Broadband Census of America Act, which would require the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to complete an annual assessment and report on the development of broadband service capability. The FCC would collect information on types of technology used to provide broadband service, the bandwidth service tiers used, and the number of business and residential subscribers in the area.  It requires the National Technology Information Administration (NTIA) to develop a broadband inventory map that shows the geographic extent of this information. This legislation would help show where federal support for broadband service capability needs to be targeted. This bill passed the House by a voice vote and now goes to the Senate for further consideration.
 
I am a cosponsor of the Broadband Deployment Acceleration Act which would give a tax credit for companies that install high-speed broadband networks. This legislation only provides tax credit based on broadband speeds and not on particular technologies or telecommunications companies. This tax credit will expire in 2010 in an attempt to get companies to deploy broadband quickly and efficiently.
 
I will continue to support the development of broadband services in North Carolina and throughout the country.