The Regulatory Mix - Tuesday, February 18, 2020

Today's Regulatory Mix:  USDA Announces Grants in Illinois and Tennessee, FCC Commissioner Carr Visits North Carolina Events Focused on 5G and Telehealth

USDA Announces Grants in Illinois and Tennessee  

In Illinois, in a press release, the USDA Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue announced an investment of $9 million in four, high-speed broadband infrastructure projects that will create or improve rural e-Connectivity for 3,744 rural households, 31 businesses, 41 farms and a critical community facility in Tennessee. 

“Our core mission at USDA is to increase rural prosperity through boosting economic opportunity in rural America,” Perdue said.  “We know that rural communities need robust, modern infrastructure to thrive, and that includes having access to broadband e-Connectivity.  Under the leadership of President Trump, USDA is proud to partner with rural communities to deploy this critical infrastructure, because we know when rural America thrives, all of America thrives.” 

In Tennessee, Illinois State Director Douglas Wilson announced that the USDA is investing $3.4 million to create or improve rural e-Connectivity for 603 rural households, 12 farms and a business in Hamilton County. 

“High-speed broadband is critical for the prosperous future of rural communities,” Wilson said.  “It is essential for economic development and improved access to health care and educational resources.  President Trump and Agriculture Secretary Perdue have made the deployment of this much-needed service a priority.  I congratulate Hamilton County Telephone Cooperative on this award and look forward to seeing more communities get access to this vital infrastructure.” 

Commissioner Carr Visits North Carolina Events Focused on 5G and Telehealth 

FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr announced a series of events in North Carolina this week, focused on 5G workforce, infrastructure, and telehealth issues.  He will start off in Charlotte with a visit to a public safety answering point where he will discuss the challenges faced by first responders. He’ll then visit a fiber deployment in nearby Salisbury, where crews from Hotwire are deploying the infrastructure necessary to bring some of the fastest broadband speeds to American consumers. After the deployment, he will tour the Corning fiber manufacturing plant to view firsthand the development and production of the equipment that is critical to closing the digital divide. 

On Wednesday, Carr will visit a fixed wireless deployment by Open Broadband in a rural community north of Raleigh and then tour a tower climbing training facility. Carr will participate in a keynote fireside chat at the National Association of Tower Erectors’ (NATE) annual conference. Immediately following his remarks, Wake Technical Community College  and Tower Engineering Professionals will execute a Memorandum of Understanding to establish an apprenticeship program for tower technicians and project managers.  Carr will conclude his trip with visits to Duke University Hospital and Well Care Health to discuss their experiences in the emerging telehealth field. 

“Since announcing my jobs initiative to expand America’s 5G workforce in 2019, I’ve brought together stakeholders to expand the 5G workforce. Apprenticeship programs like this hold great promise because they allow those with families to support a chance to earn while they learn. The partnership between Wake Tech and TEP is another solid win in our efforts to expand America’s 5G workforce,” Carr said.  

____________________________

The Regulatory Mix, Inteserra’s blog of telecom related regulatory activities, is a snapshot of PUC, FCC, legislative, and occasionally court issues that our regulatory monitoring team uncovers each day. Depending on their significance, some items may be the subject of an Inteserra Briefing.