NATE Chairman Testifies at U.S. Senate Commerce Committee “5G Workforce and Obstacles to Broadband” Hearing
For Immediate Release:
January 22, 2020
NATE Chairman Testifies at U.S. Senate Commerce Committee “5G Workforce and Obstacles to Broadband” Hearing
(Washington, D.C.) – NATE Chairman Jimmy Miller, President at MillerCo, Inc. in Gulfport, Mississippi, provided expert witness testimony at today’s U.S. Senate Commerce Committee hearing in Washington, D.C. The hearing, “The 5G Workforce and Obstacles to Broadband Deployment”, was convened by U.S. Senator Roger Wicker, R-MS, who serves as chairman of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation.
During his remarks, Miller provided perspective on the industry’s challenge to attract, recruit and retain a workforce capable of possessing the diverse skill set necessary to produce the expansion of universal broadband, public safety and ubiquitous 5G coverage across the country. As part of his testimony, Miller also discussed other barriers that are threats to the industry’s efforts to deploy next generation technologies and close the digital divide.
Miller also provided solutions to the challenges, including highlighting NATE’s workforce development and training initiatives and advocating for legislation that has been introduced in Congress, including H.R. 1848 – The Communications Jobs Training Act that has been introduced in the U.S. House. Miller urged Sen. Wicker and his colleagues to introduce a companion version of the bill in the U.S. Senate. The legislation would establish a competitive grant program at the FCC and appropriate $20 million per year for three fiscal years to develop classroom and field-based curriculum and certificate programs at community colleges, technical institutes and military organizations.
To read NATE”s official witness testimony in its entirety, visit HERE.
“It was an honor to serve as a voice today on behalf of NATE’s membership, a majority of which are the small business contractor firms like mine who are on the front lines of deployment and enabling connectivity on a daily basis,” said Jimmy Miller. “I would like to thank Senator Wicker and his colleagues on the Senate Commerce Committee for providing this platform today to help shine a spotlight on our industry’s challenges and opportunities,” Miller added.
FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr, Lisa Youngers, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Fiber Broadband Association, Shirley Bloomfield, CEO of NTCA-The Rural Broadband Association and Harold Feld, Senior Vice President of Public Knowledge also provided witness testimony at the hearing. To view the video replay of today’s “The 5G Workforce and Obstacles to Broadband Deployment” hearing, visit www.commerce.senate.gov. For more information on NATE, visit www.natehome.com.
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 Pictured above is NATE Chairman Jimmy Miller talking to Sen. Roger Wicker from Mississippi (Chairman of the Senate Commerce Committee). |
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About NATE: The Communications Infrastructure Contractors Association
NATE: The Communications Infrastructure Contractors Association is a non-profit trade association in the wireless infrastructure industry providing a unified voice for tower erection, service and maintenance companies. Today the Association boasts over 900 member companies located throughout the United States, Bahamas, Canada, China, Ghana, Israel, Jamaica, Nigeria, Puerto Rico, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Spain, Trinidad and the United Kingdom. For additional information on NATE, please visit www.natehome.com.
