PITTSBURGH, October 22, 2015 – American Cable Association President and CEO Matthew M. Polka issued the following statement regarding introduction of the Broadband Conduit Deployment Act of 2015 authored by Rep. Anna Eshoo (D-Calif.), Ranking Member on the House Subcommittee on Communications and Technology, and Rep. Greg Walden, Chairman of the House Subcommittee on Communications and Technology:
“The American Cable Association applauds Ranking Member Eshoo and Chairman Walden on the introduction of legislation directing the Department of Transportation to require states to evaluate the need to install broadband conduit when building highway infrastructure using federal funds. In addition, if a state determines there is such a need in the next 15 years, then the state will ensure that the highway construction project includes sufficient broadband conduit.
“ACA supports the Eshoo-Walden broadband deployment bill because it will further reduce the cost of laying thousands of miles of fiber optic lines by private businesses. It’s also a win for taxpayers because the fiscally prudent ‘dig once’ approach championed by the Eshoo-Walden bill is designed to use scarce federal road-construction dollars to meet multiple important infrastructure objectives.
“ACA shares with Reps. Eshoo and Walden that ‘dig once’ is a commonsense response to evidence that installing conduit for broadband could produce large savings based on Federal Highway Administration (FHA) estimates that it is ten times more expensive to dig up and repair an existing road to lay fiber than to dig a channel for it when the road is being built or repaired.”
About the American Cable Association: Based in Pittsburgh, the American Cable Association is a trade organization representing nearly 850 smaller and medium-sized, independent cable companies who provide broadband services for nearly 7 million cable subscribers primarily located in rural and smaller suburban markets across America. Through active participation in the regulatory and legislative process in Washington, D.C., ACA’s members work together to advance the interests of their customers and ensure the future competitiveness and viability of their business. For more information, visit https://acaconnects.org/