The House today approved by voice vote the ACCESS BROADBAND Act (HR 3994), which would direct the Department of Commerce (DoC) to establish an Office of Internet Connectivity and Growth within the National Telecommunications and Information Administration.

Members of the House Energy and Commerce’s Committee’s Communications and Technology Subcommittee expressed broad agreement today that the Federal government needs to do more to promote the availability of broadband service in underserved and unserved areas of the United States, but appeared to signal little in the way of any unified sentiment to coalesce around any of several existing bills that aim for that goal.

Leadership of the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee on Wednesday pressed the head of the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) for necessary follow-up to passage earlier this year of the MOBILE NOW Act.