Eshoo, Walden Introduce "Dig Once' Broadband Deployment Bill

Press Release

Congresswoman Anna G. Eshoo (D-Calif.), Ranking Member of the Communications and Technology Subcommittee, and Congressman Greg Walden (R-Ore.), Chairman of the Subcommittee, introduced today the Broadband Conduit Deployment Act of 2015, commonly referred to as "dig once' legislation. This bipartisan, commonsense legislation would mandate the inclusion of broadband conduit--plastic pipes which house fiber-optic communications cable--during the construction of any road receiving federal funding if there is a demonstrated need for broadband in the area within the next 15 years.

"Today our information highways are just as important as our interstate highways," said Eshoo, who introduced similar legislation in 2009 and 2011. "By laying broadband conduit during construction of roads that receive federal funding, broadband providers can later install fiber-optic cable without costly excavation of newly-built roads. "Dig once' is a commonsense bipartisan policy that will significantly reduce the cost of broadband deployment in our country."

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