NOTEBOOK: Iowa gets love for work on broadband, but tasks remain

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I had the pleasure of moderating a discussion with FCC Commissioner Ajit Pai the other day at a luncheon sponsored by the Technology Association of Iowa. Pai, appointed by President Barack Obama in 2012, was an energetic and thoughtful speaker, a Midwesterner who apparently had a healthy respect for Iowa before he got here. He began his question and answer session by noting that Iowa, with Gov. Terry Branstad’s “Connect Every Acre” program and other efforts, is far ahead of many states on improving broadband access to help spur startups and other economic developments. The Iowa legislation offers grants in targeted areas and uniform rules.

Pai started the day by hearing about FliteBrite’s smart beer flight paddles at 1 Million Cups, then met with Debi Durham, director of the Iowa Economic Development Authority. 

By the time the lunch at the State Historical Building rolled around, he was at full sprint. He offered a well-organized stream of consciousness about how to improve communications:

— The nation needs fewer rules limiting crowdfunding. “We need Kickstarter for startups.”
— Regulations, federal and local, need to recognize that today’s world isn’t much like the scene when rules were first passed for communications operations. “Don’t impose old rules on new industries.”
— We need Gigabit Opportunity Zones where regulations would be streamlined and incentives such as tax credits would encourage service in low-income areas.
— We also need new incentives for broadband development in rural areas, including tax incentives for startups and license terms of up to 15 years.
— The nation needs to take advantage of broadband, which leads to “democratization of entrepreneurship” because business can be conducted in both rural and urban areas.