Tiffany reintroduces broadband access legislation

By: River Falls Journal 

Reps. Tom Tiffany of Wisconsin, Eric Sorensen of Illinois and Glenn Grothman of Wisconsin reintroduced legislation to expand broadband access in rural areas across the United States.

The ACCESS Rural America Act would allow smaller, locally owned broadband providers to streamline the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s registration and reporting requirements. 

“Instead of being able to supply rural America with high-speed broadband networks, our local providers are caught up in Washington’s bureaucratic red tape,” Tiffany said. “This bipartisan bill will give small broadband providers the tools to expand quality internet access across rural America.” 

By increasing the number of investors that prompt the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission public reporting requirements, rural broadband providers will no longer be hamstrung by additional federal regulations intended for large corporations.

"Excessive regulations make it difficult for small and locally owned providers to expand internet access in our rural communities," Sorensen said. "By revising laws intended for big corporations, this bipartisan effort helps bridge the digital divide and connects Illinois families to jobs and economic opportunity." 

NTCA - the Rural Broadband Association CEO Shirley Bloomfield said that small, local broadband providers need to be focused on delivering services to customers rather than “complying with burdensome securities registration and reporting requirements meant for large publicly traded companies.”

The Sarbanes-Oxley Act was signed into law in 2002 and established extensive regulations for companies. Due to the broad-brush approach that this law created, many smaller, locally owned providers are burdened by enhanced U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission registration and reporting requirements. For example, if a small telecommunications company in Wisconsin is helping deploy networks in rural areas but has 500 or more not-accredited shareholders, then it must comply with the regulations set forth by the Sarbanes-Oxley Act and spend substantial amounts of money and resources on these reporting requirements to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission every year. 

“Much of rural Wisconsin and the nation need state-of-the-art fiber optic network access that we could possibly provide if we were not under the additional burdens of SEC and the costly restrictions of federal regulations that we have endured for 20 years,” John Klatt, President and CEO Lakeland Communications, said. 

The ACCESS Rural America Act would increase the number of investors that prompts the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission public reporting requirements from 500 to 2,000 persons for rural broadband companies receiving federal universal service support, possibly alleviating pressure on many businesses helping bridge the digital divide across America. 

Read the article here.