WASHINGTON-Sens. Jay Rockefeller (D-W.Va.) and Olympia Snowe (R-Maine) introduced legislation providing tax breaks to encourage deployment of broadband Internet facilities in rural and underserved areas.
“Without access to broadband technology, rural businesses fall behind their urban counterparts. The incentives in this bill can help these communities overcome the digital divide,” said Rockefeller.
The bill would allow businesses to expense 50 percent of their investments on current-generation technology and 100 percent on next-generation technology. To ensure funds are concentrated on competitive market solutions, credits would be earned only after a service provider achieves 10-percent market penetration.
