Administration favors fiber advanced telecom infrastructure for IIJA funding. Law could advantage governments and utility cooperatives.

Bipartisan Infrastructure Law-funded networks should be built to stand the test of time and be fast enough to accommodate current and future needs. Given current demand and evolving technologies, Bipartisan Infrastructure Law programs should prioritize the fastest speeds possible and require a minimum of at least 100/20 Mbps. Relatedly, Bipartisan Infrastructure Law funding should prioritize fiber-to-the-home wherever practical to future-proof the infrastructure. At the same time, respondents expressed the need for states to have flexibility to utilize both fixed and wireless technologies to fully reach all Americans and called for the ability to substitute fixed wireless and satellite options where fiber is not cost-effective or where no provider is willing to offer fiber. (Emphasis added)

The administration today clearly affirmed its preference for fiber optics for advanced telecom delivery infrastructure funded by the Infrastructure Investment of Jobs Act of 2021 (IIJA), shifting away from the technology neutral policy of the 1996 Telecom Act.

The IIJA prioritizes grant funding for up to 75 percent of capital costs of deploying advanced telecommunications infrastructure for projects where at least 80 percent of the premises to be served are not advertised landline or wireless connectivity of at least 25 Mbps for downloads and 3 Mbps for uploads.

But capital project construction is only part of the overall cost. The fiber infrastructure must also be maintained and repaired. Field electronic equipment must be updated and replaced every several years. These additional costs may deter a commercial entity that must earn a profit for its investors from building fiber in the sparsely populated areas deemed "unserved" under the IIJA and prioritized for funding. That would favor governmental operators and consumer utility cooperatives that operate without the burden of generating profits and paying income taxes, particularly if the federal government deems that grants awarded under the IIJA are taxable income.