NTIA Letter to FCC on Accelerating Wireline Broadband Deployment

The National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA), as the President's principal adviser on telecommunications and information policy, applauds the Commission's continuing actions to accelerate the ongoing modernization of the Nation's communications infrastructure, by promoting the transition from legacy networks and services to next-generation networks and services (the so-called IP transition). NTIA has consistently supported network modernization because it will both significantly reduce carriers' operating and maintenance costs and enable carriers to expand and enhance the services they can offer subscribers. NTIA remains concerned, however, that streamlined regulatory requirements may place federal departments and agencies that rely on services subject to discontinuance in the untenable position of losing access to critical national security and public safety communications functionality.