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Press Room: Press Releases

March 30, 2000

ROCKEFELLER INTRODUCES BILL TO BRING HIGH-SPEED INTERNET ACCESS TO RURAL WEST VIRGINIA

WASHINGTON, D.C. —U.S. Senator Jay Rockefeller (D-WV) today announced that he has introduced legislation to create a tax credit for expanding broadband telecommunications services in rural areas. The Senator said that the Rural Telecommunications Modernization Act will help to ensure that every part of West Virginia has access to the most vital and modern services needed to succeed in the New Economy.

     Rockefeller commented, "The world of communications is changing so rapidly and in so many ways. These changes are not just affecting the way the world communicates — they are fundamentally changing the make-up of our economy. Unfortunately, West Virginia and rural areas throughout the country are at a significant technological disadvantage. Right now there is a tremendous and potentially very dangerous disparity between broadband access in rural and urban America."

     "My legislation will directly attack the broadband disparity in West Virginia and across the nation," Rockefeller said. "Using a focused, affordable tax credit, this plan will give companies the incentive to build broadband facilities in rural parts of West Virginia. While broadband services are becoming available in some of the larger cities in our state, this legislation will help to spread those services to more remote communities."

     Broadband is the term used to describe the ability to transmit very high quantities of electronic data — typically many times higher than what conventional phone lines allow. The legislation will offer any company that invests in broadband facilities in rural areas a ten percent tax credit per year for three years. To make sure the credit is focused on the need that actually exists, it will only be available for certain types of investments:

 

• First, only investments in rural areas qualify. It is important to focus this credit where the help is needed most and, in doing so, make sure that costs are kept reasonable. The credit is restricted to investments in areas that are more than 10 miles from any town with more than 25,000 people, and that are not within a county with a population density of more than 500 people per square mile.
• Second, investments must be for "broadband local access facilities." These facilities provide the equipment needed for broadband capability. This includes fiber optics, DSL equipment, wireless enhancements, and cable TV network upgrades.
• Finally, the credit is restricted to investments needed for "high-speed broadband telecommunications services." This means that only powerful broadband services are covered. Companies cannot claim that "narrow-band" services qualify.

     Rockefeller continued, "The New Economy is changing the way we live and do business and it holds great potential for both new and old industries in our state. However, for West Virginia to achieve the full benefits of this change, broadband technology must be available to businesses and consumers in every part of our state. Ultimately, denying rural Americans a chance to participate in the New Economy will not just hurt our small cities and towns, it will hold back our entire national economy."

Read Senator Rockefeller's floor statement about this bill.