5 Sep, 2012
ARLINGTON, VA (September 5, 2012) - The Telecommunications Industry Association (TIA), the leading association representing the manufacturers and suppliers of high-tech communications networks, today released the following statement in response to the Democratic Party and Republican Party platforms from Danielle Coffey, TIA Vice President and General Counsel, Government Affairs: “We’re happy to see that ICT / telecom issues have received much more discussion in both parties’ platforms this year. Although the platforms are often designed to accentuate differences, both parties have cited the need for increased access to broadband, and both support the multi-stakeholder model of Internet governance. Both parties also favor improving the ICT ecosystem by making the R&D tax credit permanent, supporting the Trans-Pacific Partnership, and advocating for corporate tax reform that includes lower rates. “We’re also happy to see that this week’s Democratic platform supports President Obama’s plans to build out the nationwide public safety broadband network. We also support Democratic proposals to fund additional science & math teachers and double funding for key R&D agencies. Democrats were wise to support many cybersecurity initiatives that have bipartisan agreement, such as investing in targeted R&D, promoting cybersecurity awareness & digital literacy, and strengthening private sector and international partnerships. “Much of this complements last week’s Republican platform, which wisely called for an inventory of federal spectrum to determine the surplus that can be auctioned to alleviate the spectrum crunch. We were also happy that the GOP platform called for removing unneeded regulations, recognized the need for public-private partnerships that will maintain U.S. leadership in ICT, and proposed beginning to re-think the way that telecom networks are regulated.”
