The Senate Finance Committee is considering a plan to give tax credits to wireless operators and other telecom players to increase broadband deployments in underserved areas. Such a move, broadband players have argued, would spur deployments more so than just grant and loan money.
Sen. Jay Rockefeller, D-W.Va., introduced an amendment that would give a 10 percent tax credit to companies that invest in the expansion of current broadband technology, or 5 Mbps downlink and 1 Mbps uplink. In addition, the amendment also provides a 20 percent tax credit to invest in next-generation broadband, or 100 Mbps downlink and 20 Mbps uplink, in areas where broadband access is sparse or nonexistent.
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