Victor Valley Times

U.S. Congressman Jay Obernolte (R-Hesperia) introduced a new bill to bolster rural broadband access for rural and federally land-locked communities including CA-23 this week. H.R. 3340, the Granting Remaining Applications Not Treated Efficiently or Delayed (GRANTED) Act, incentivizes expeditious approval of applications to place broadband infrastructure on federal land by granting automatic approval of any application still pending following the current 270-day deadline.

On Wednesday, the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Communications and Technology passed the bill as part of a larger rural broadband deployment package. Full Committee consideration is expected next week.

“It is critical that we continue to find ways to increase access to broadband internet in our rural communities, particularly where surrounding federal land ownership has complicated broadband deployment,” said Rep. Obernolte. “By enforcing the 270-day shot clock already in place, we can ensure that applications for rural broadband deployment on federal lands receive timely reviews and the expeditious consideration they are due.”

WATCH REP. OBERNOLTE’S REMARKS IN COMMITTEE HERE

The federal government manages a significant amount of land across the United States through the Department of Interior and the Department of Agriculture. As a result, these agencies are responsible for reviewing and approving applications to deploy broadband on federal property. Under H.R. 3340, the GRANTED Act, all applications still in review following the mandated 270-day approval period will be automatically deemed as granted. This will prevent extended review periods for broadband deployment applications and help to significantly bolster rural broadband deployment in communities such as California’s 23rd Congressional District where a vast proportion of land is federally owned.

Read the full bill text here.

Issues: Technology

Original source can be found here.