Agencies at both the state and Federal levels of government have contributed to the effort of expanding broadband access across America. Now, as the FCC considers plans to reform an outdated subsidy system for rural telephone carriers to provide funding for broadband deployment, state commissioners are arguing that the Federal government may be pre-empting the states’ role in regulating telephone carriers and building broadband.

Proponents of the national connectivity plan say states will end up benefitting because the plan is very focused on areas that are unserved or underserved by high-speed Internet. A member of the Indiana Utilities Regulatory Commission commented in defense of the states’ position, "In some ways, the build-out of broadband may be even more important to the states than it is to the feds because broadband is a critical component of our economic development."

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