The FCC’s Chief of the Office of Strategic Planning and Policy Analysis, Paul de Sa, has released a white paper urging investment in the nation’s digital infrastructure. The paper argues that greater investment in broadband infrastructure should be a prominent component of any national infrastructure improvement plan because the economic upside from accelerating investment in broadband is greater than most other areas of infrastructure investment. The paper states that broadband is a foundation for economic activity across many industry sectors and the public benefits of broadband could grow exponentially in the coming decades as the nation is just beginning to realize the potential innovation and productivity gains from broadband in areas such as transportation, healthcare, education, and government. The paper highlights the economic benefits of investment in broadband and proposes policy measures to stimulate infrastructure deployment. The paper suggests that the primary goal of federal actions with respect to digital infrastructure should be to increase and accelerate profitable, incremental, private-sector investment to achieve at least 98% nationwide deployment of broadband networks. To stimulate infrastructure deployment and reach nationwide coverage, the paper proposes public-policy measures such as direct funding support to reduce the cost of capital, changes to the tax code to increase the return on invested capital, and operations-related actions that enhance the productivity of capex.
