The platform adopted by the Republican party this week describes the telecommunications industry as a vital part of the U.S. economy that is being hamstrung by the federal government. “The current Administration has been frozen in the past,” says the 2012 Republican Platform. “It has conducted no auction of spectrum, has offered no incentives for investment, and, through the FCC’s net neutrality rule, is trying to micromanage telecom as if it were a railroad network.” (The mention of a railroad network is a reference to the telecommunication industry’s history. Before the creation of the Federal Communications Commission in 1934, the telecom industry was governed by the Interstate Commerce Commission, which also regulated railroads.)
The Republicans are calling for an “inventory of federal agency spectrum to determine the surplus that could be auctioned.” Federal agencies that need to use spectrum include military agencies, the Federal Aviation Administration, the Department of Justice, the Department of Interior, and the National Science Foundation. Government use of spectrum is monitored and managed by the Office of Spectrum Management within the National Telecommunications and Information Administration.
“An industry that invested $66 billion in 2011 alone needs, and deserves, a more modern relationship with the federal government for the benefit of consumers here and worldwide,” states the Republican Party platform. “The Telecom Act of 1996 is woefully out of date.”
The GOP platform also criticizes the current Administration for failing to extend broadband coverage to the 5% of Americans who still cannot get high-speed access to the Internet. “We encourage public-private partnerships to provide predictable support for connecting rural areas,” the platform states. In the past, the federal government has partnered with non-profit groups focused on education to extend coverage to rural schools.
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