The Senate Commerce Committee will hold a hearing May 3 entitled "Investing in America’s Broadband Infrastructure: Exploring Ways to Reduce Barriers to Deployment."
The hearing will be on ways to streamline broadband deployment and infrastructure, with a focus on rural areas and encouraging private investment in next-gen telecommunications services.
FCC chairman Ajit Pai has launched a pair of proceedings seeking input on how to speed wired and wireless deployment, including by easing rights of way and tower-siting issues and vetting the impact from delays due to environmental and historical impact studies.
But witnesses for the hearing do not include any ISPs. They do include Patricia Cooper, VP at SpaceX; Larry Downes, project director at the Georgetown Center for Business and Public Policy; Brian Hendricks, head of tech policy and public affairs, Americas, for Nokia; Gary Resnick, mayor of Wilton Manors, Fla.; and Jeff Weninger, a member of the Arizona House of Representatives.
