For Immediate Release
Contact: Carolyn Just, [email protected], (703) 351-2015
Arlington, Va. (May 13, 2020)—On May 13, 2020, NTCA–The Rural Broadband Association Chief Executive Officer Shirley Bloomfield testified during the Senate Energy and Commerce Committee hearing, “The State of Broadband Amid the COVID-19 Pandemic.”
The following is excerpted from Bloomfield’s written testimony:
“NTCA believes it is most effective to conceive of potential responses to the challenges presented by the COVID-19 crisis in the form of near-term and longer-term measures. In the near-term, we need both to make sure that those who are not yet connected get connected and to make sure that those who are connected today stay connected. In the longer-term, we need to think about how we can develop a coherent and coordinated national broadband infrastructure policy so that we are not back here again someday, staring at the next crisis and wondering why some customers lack broadband altogether, why other customers have unreliable access that does not enable effective use of virtual private networks or distance learning platforms, and why still other customers might have access to robust, future-proof networks but lack the ability to afford services atop those networks.”
The full text of the submitted written testimony can be found here.
Watch a recording of the hearing here.