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PR CONTACT: ASHLEY ROOK, +1.202.429.4929, AshleyRook@Rational360.com

TIA’s 2013 ‘Innovation Agenda’ Urges Action to Prevent the U.S. from Losing its Economic and Technology Leadership
Policy Roadmap Provides Tools to Ensure Economic Growth; Strengthen Sciences & Engineering; Promote Broadband and Protect Networks, Devices, and Consumers

ARLINGTON, VA (April 30, 2013) – The Telecommunications Industry Association (TIA), the leading association representing the manufacturers and suppliers of high-tech communications networks, today released its recommendations for a public policy agenda that will grow the U.S. economy and create jobs by recapturing global competitiveness, driving investment, and enabling forward-looking technologies.

TIA’s 2013 Innovation Agenda provides specific recommendations to rebuild our nation’s economy through corporate tax reform; to create a stronger high-tech workforce by enacting immigration reform; to increase the availability and affordability of consumer devices and digital content through light-touch regulations; and to protect networks and consumer information through cybersecurity measures. 

“We must ensure that the U.S. remains globally competitive by embracing policies that will sustain our nation’s leadership in innovation and technology,” said TIA President Grant Seiffert.  “Our plan provides specific policy prescriptions to grow jobs and the economy by promoting trade, ensuring a fair regulatory environment, and creating strong incentives to invest and to innovate.  To make certain businesses and consumers have the tools they need to succeed in a quickly changing economy, the plan calls for improving our communications infrastructure and enacting policies that will foster and enable new technologies.”

“Without action on these priorities, we are at risk of falling behind on our nation’s goal of creating good, high paying jobs and leading the world in innovation and technology advancements,” Seiffert said.

As in past years, central to TIA’s Innovation Agenda is the availability and efficient use of spectrum for wireless broadband and mobile devices.  TIA’s recently released Market Review & Forecast (MR&F) found that business and consumer demand for data is surging with the adoption of smart phones, cloud computing, machine-to-machine communications and more.  Meeting this demand will require greater access to spectrum and increased corporate investment in wireless networks.

The following outlines the high-level action items for each of the three key areas included in the Innovation Agenda.  The full plan includes detailed recommendations in each of these areas.

Recapture Global Competitiveness:

• Promote trade and investment through trade liberalization and tech neutral approach to regulation.
• Advance U.S. R&D through a permanent tax credit and multi-year federal research plans.
• Support for more H1-B visas, and education in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics.
• Quickly enact broad corporate tax reform that helps put U.S. companies on equal footing globally.

Drive Investment:

• Advance the nation’s next-generation broadband infrastructure through tax credits and more.
• Transition to an all-IP network; Embrace a light-touch and consistent regulatory approach.

Enable Forward-Looking Technologies:

• Drive spectrum availability through allocation of federal spectrum, flexible regulations, and voluntary incentive auctions.
• Seek global advancements in cybersecurity and liability protections when sharing information to stave off cyber-attacks.
• Embrace smart grid, smart buildings and more to drive ICT’s potential to reduce energy consumption.
• Increase tech access for Americans without connectivity and the disabled to spur innovation, and in doing so, create more jobs for this population.
• Improve access to advanced first responder communications tools to advance public safety.

To read the full TIA 2013 Innovation Agenda, visit http://www.tiaonline.org/sites/default/files/pages/TIA%20Innovation%20Agenda%202013_FINAL_0.pdf.

Underscoring the need for comprehensive policy changes are recently released figures from TIA’s 2013 MR&F, the industry’s most comprehensive annual data review and analysis.  The report shows that the ICT industry is in the midst of unprecedented growth, fueled by surging demand for data, cloud computing and specialized services. The report finds that in 2012, for the first time, U.S. wireless data spending topped wireless voice spending, and U.S. wireless penetration has surpassed 100 percent of the adult population.  The MR&F also found that overall telecommunications spending growth will increase faster in the U.S. than internationally by 2014, reversing a trend that dates back to at least 2007.  For a complimentary press copy of the 2013 MR&F, contact Ashley Rook at AshleyRook@Rational360.com.

About TIA

The Telecommunications Industry Association (TIA) represents manufacturers and suppliers of global communications networks through standards development, policy and advocacy, business opportunities, market intelligence, and events and networking. TIA enhances the business environment for broadband, mobile wireless, information technology, networks, cable, satellite and unified communications. Members' products and services empower communications in every industry and market, including healthcare, education, security, public safety, transportation, government, the military, the environment, and entertainment. Visit tiaonline.org for more details. 

TIA is accredited by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI), and is a proud sponsor of ANSI’s Standards Boost Business campaign. Visit www.standardsboostbusiness.org for details.

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