BDAC Gets Streamlining Federal Siting Working Group
The FCC created a new Broadband Deployment Advisory Group body, the Streamlining Federal Siting Working Group. Chairman Ajit Pai announced the new working group after the FCC meeting Thursday, and the agency later released a notice with members (see the…
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personals section of this issue of the publication). Jonathan Adelstein, president of the Wireless Infrastructure Association, will be chair, and Valerie Fast Horse, information technology director at the Coeur d’Alene Tribe, vice chair. They “will tackle how we will address barriers to deployment on property that is controlled by the federal government,” Pai told reporters. “I think their work will fit in nicely with the work the other working groups are doing. I don't think it's going to hold back the overall mission to help us identify barriers to broadband deployment.” Pai also defended the BDAC's overall makeup, saying the membership is broad. Several federal agencies are represented on the working group, including the Agriculture Department, Interior Department and Department of Housing and Urban Development and the Bureau of Land Management. "Nearly a third of America’s landmass and thousands of buildings are owned or controlled by the Federal government," Adelstein said in a news release. "We need processes that ensure Federal resources are efficiently tapped to bridge the digital divide."