The persistent honk and screech of our national politics can be pretty darn irritating. But if you put on your noise cancelling headphones, you’ll hear a growing chorus of leaders declaring it’s time for government to put an end to delays, distractions, and do-nothingness and get back in the business of doing things for the American people. 

 From the Abundance left to the populist right, there is an emerging consensus demanding we rethink how government help when it must and get out of the way wherever it can. The recently launched bipartisan Build America Caucus and the Rural Broadband Caucus are examples of two such congressional efforts to get government back in the business of building.

 America’s broadband providers are all in with this GSD (Get Stuff Done) mindset. 

We are a community of builders — thousands working for the connectivity of millions — and we have a lot of experience to share with anyone committed to building America’s people-centered future. 

We have a vision of what the government and private sector can do together, shoulder-to-shoulder, laser focused on the people we serve. 

First, a quick and immense win for rural communities would be advancing the $42 billion BEAD rural broadband program by letting the states that have completed the bidding process move forward.

The previous administration bogged it down in a swamp of unnecessary requirements and red tape that should be rolled back so the States can finally get shovels in the ground. After three and half years since its launch, not a single unserved American home has been connected.

Despite these serial delays, hundreds of America’s broadband providers — mostly local, independent operators — remain committed to this program. They just need a greenlight from Washington to get broadband to the rural communities who, along with their local officials and governors, have made clear their desire to have a future built wherever possible on the best, most cost-effective, scalable, secure, and powerful broadband solution — and that is fiber technology.

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Second, the same results-focused zeal must course through the veins of Congress and the administration as they address how to more efficiently fund universal service. Launched in 1996 to ensure everyone in America can connect to the modern communications-powered economy, the Universal Service Fund (USF) now faces structural headwinds. Without a sustainable USF, many of our local broadband providers risk going out of business, and the hundreds of communities they serve including their hospitals, schools, and public safety facilities risk going digitally dark. 

The bottom line is USF’s outdated funding mechanism needs reform. To slightly modify old wisdom, to whom much has been given, at least a little should be expected — here I’m talking about the nation’s technology companies that profit mightily thanks to USF connectivity largely funded by a dwindling base of voice customers. It’s neither fair nor sustainable.

My message to these handful of trillion-dollar tech giants is: Get off the sidelines and help USF connect all Americans. 

Third, we also see important conversations about how we bring back common sense to things as fixable as permitting. Would you believe that a broadband provider in Utah had to wait three years to get permission to access federal land just to repair a fiber optic line already installed? These kinds of bottlenecks are everywhere, and they need fixing now.  

Finally, if our permitting is stuck in the past, our networks are at risk of being so, too, especially if carriers continue to be required to keep up old copper lines from the last century — preventing important investments into modernizing this century’s communications infrastructure. If we can finally cut the red tape and move quickly on BEAD, USF, permitting, and network modernization, then we can really start cutting the ribbons to celebrate the countless communities wired for success. 

An America that builds is good, an America that builds on a fiber foundation is great – particularly as we hurdle towards an AI-enabled future that must be built on fast, reliable, broadband to connect everything from scalable data centers to advance manufacturing.

Our government should be concerned with outcomes for the people and not endless processes, regulations, and delays. The only thing stopping us from connecting everyone in this country — expanding their opportunities and improving the benefits for everyone — is too much delay and inaction and not enough GSD.

Jonathan Spalter is president and CEO of USTelecom–The Broadband Association.