For State of the Union, TIA Calls on President Obama to Urge Swift
Passage of Spectrum Legislation
In Letter on the State of the Tech Industry, TIA President Recommends Adoption of TIA’s Innovation Package to Help Create Jobs and Grow the Economy
Washington, D.C. – In advance of President Barack Obama’s State of the Union address, the Telecommunications Industry Association (TIA) called on the President to urge Congress to act swiftly to ensure final passage of wireless spectrum and public safety network legislation. “Auction authority legislation is vital to America’s future competitiveness,” said Grant Seiffert, president of TIA.
“Growth in the ICT sector not only creates jobs in manufacturing ICT equipment and deploying physical infrastructure, but also leads to economic growth through the creation of new businesses, services, and technologies in other sectors of the economy,” Seiffert wrote in a letter to President Obama. “For example, your proposal to develop and deploy a nationwide wireless broadband public safety network would create an estimated 100,000 new jobs in ICT industries and, over time, produce indirect benefits of an estimated $4 to $8 billion per year.”
TIA also encouraged the Obama Administration to fully implement the recommendations in TIA’s “Innovation Package: A Roadmap for Growing Jobs & the Economy,” which was released last year. The Innovation Package provided a concrete set of policy recommendations for the U.S. government to implement to 1) Recapture Global Competitiveness, 2) Drive Investment, and 3) Enable Forward-Looking Technologies.
An overview of TIA’s Innovation Package recommendations:
Recapture Global Competitiveness
- Market Access & Trade – Securing access to international markets by promoting trade liberalization and market-based and technology neutral approach to regulation in key international markets.
- Research & Development – Strategic and robust U.S. investment in telecommunications research including a permanent R&D tax credit, multi-year federal research plans, and a commitment to long-term research will enable the U.S. to remain a technology industry leader.
- Education & Talent – The future of the ICT industry in the U.S. depends on providing the necessary support for education in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) for our students while enacting visa reforms to allow companies to attract and retain the best and brightest minds from around the world.
- Tax Reform – The President should continue efforts to engage with Congress on tax reform this year. Lowering the corporate tax burden by 10 percent would increase investment in ICT by nearly $71 billion, which in turn will raise productivity and total business spending on wages, salaries and other compensation by nearly $450 billion while generating an estimated $990 billion in additional capital investments.
Drive Investment
- Tax Incentives – Through incremental tax credits, expensing, and bonds, the U.S. Government can increase investment in our nation’s next-generation broadband infrastructure.
- Market-Based Regulations – A continued light-touch approach to regulations, as well as certainty in the marketplace, will ensure continued investment in a technology-neutral manner.
Enable Forward-Looking Technologies
- Spectrum Availability – Innovative, next-generation wireless devices, applications, and services require spectrum availability for fixed and mobile broadband use; this can be achieved through voluntary incentive auctions, flexible regulations and reallocation of federal spectrum where feasible.
- Global Cyber Security – Promoting global approaches to cyber security policies in the U.S. and internationally to avoid policies that could negatively impact market access, interoperability and global security.
- Green ICT & Smart Grid – Appropriate policies driving ICT’s potential to reduce energy consumption in other more energy-intensive sectors through smart grid, smart buildings and travel substitution are key to create jobs and help U.S. industry compete successfully in global markets.
- Accessibility – By encouraging collaboration among stakeholders and the usage of voluntary consensus-based standards the U.S. Government can increase the accessibility of technology by those with disabilities, encourage innovation and, in doing so, open up new employment opportunities for this vulnerable community.
Read the full text of TIA’s letter to President Obama. Go to TIA NOW Wed., Jan. 25, to watch on-demand video of TIA President Grant Seiffert with an analysis of the state of tech industry and trends for 2012 and beyond.
About TIA
The Telecommunications Industry Association (TIA) represents the manufacturers and suppliers of global information and communications technology (ICT) networks through standards development, policy and advocacy, business opportunities, market intelligence, and events and networking. Since 1924, TIA has been enhancing the business environment for broadband, mobile wireless, information technology, networks, cable, satellite and unified communications. Members’ products and services empower communications in every industry and market, including healthcare, education, security, public safety, transportation, government, the military, the environment, and entertainment. Visit tiaonline.org.
Join TIA at its annual Member Meeting, Conference and Exhibition, TIA 2012: Inside the Network, June 5-7, 2012 in Dallas. For detailed information about the event go to tia2012.org.
View video news programming on TIA Now at tianow.org.
TIA’s 2011 Market Review & Forecast, is available for purchase online at the TIA store. TIA members receive a discount of more than 60 percent off of the cover price. Review copies are available for qualified media.
TIA is accredited by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI). Read ANSI’s report, “Standards Boost Business” at standardsboostbusiness.org/.
TIA’s Board of Directors includes senior-level executives from ACS Solutions, ADTRAN, Alcatel-Lucent, Cisco Systems, Dow Chemical Company, Ericsson, Inc., FAL Associates, GENBAND, Inc., Henkels & McCoy, Juniper Networks, ILS Technology, Intel Corporation, LGE, Microsoft, Motorola Mobility, Motorola Solutions, Nokia Siemens Networks, Numerex Corp., OneChip Photonics, Panasonic Computer Solutions Co., Qualcomm, Sumitomo Electric Lightwave Corporation, Tarana Wireless, Inc., Tellabs, TE Connectivity, Walker & Associates and WirefreeCom, Inc.
