Advocacy News – November 30, 2021
Last week, the Michigan Chamber provided feedback to the newly created Office of High-Speed Internet (MIHI) on their draft “strategic plan.” The plan leverages the work of previous broadband initiatives dating back to the Snyder Administration’s Michigan Consortium of Advanced Networks and further focuses on ways the state can leverage the tens of millions of dollars in state and federal funds made available to expand broadband in Michigan.
In its memo to MIHI, the Chamber focuses on two key areas of concern. First, the Michigan Chamber strongly opposes efforts to create government-owned broadband networks (GONs), as they would stifle competition and create market uncertainty for future private market investment. “If supporting assets, such as middle mile backhaul network upgrades, are to be constructed utilizing public dollars, they should be structured via grants to [internet service providers] to make those investments so that they are done efficiently,” said Mike Alaimo, Director of Environmental and Energy Affairs for the Chamber. Secondly, the efforts to create broadband access mapping utilize what is already being done by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), as required under the 2020 Broadband DATA Act. “Leveraging these efforts, instead of MIHI re-creating them, is the best way to maximize finite resources.”
For more information, contact Mike Alaimo at malaimo@michamber.com.