TIA’s Innovation Package Offers Blueprint for President Obama’s Call for Infrastructure Investment

ARLINGTON, Va.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- During Tuesday’s State of the Union address, it is reported that President Barack Obama will call for increased investments in the nation’s technology infrastructure to increase competitiveness, promote job growth and spur innovation.

In response, the Telecommunications Industry Association (TIA), which represents the global manufacturers and suppliers of the information and communications technology (ICT) industry, today released TIA’s Innovation Package: A Roadmap to Growing Jobs & the Economy. The report lays out a series of actions the Administration and Congress should take to recapture global competitiveness, drive investment and enable forward-looking technologies.

“TIA’s Innovation Package is the culmination of months of work by member companies to provide our elected leaders concrete, common sense solutions to move the economy forward,” said Grant Seiffert, president of TIA. “The past several years have been difficult ones yet our member companies have continued to invest in manufacturing the latest technologies - ensuring that the United States has the most highly-trained ICT workforce in the world.”

Seiffert added that “Innovations such as smartphones, tablets and streaming video all rely on a secure, reliable, scalable and sustainable network. The mission of our members is to ensure that ongoing innovation is not impeded by the lack of a robust broadband backbone. The policy principles laid out in TIA’s Innovation Package will help us accomplish our mission.”

An overview of TIA’s Innovation Package: A Roadmap for Growing Jobs & the Economy is outlined below.

Recapture Global Competitiveness

• Market Access & Trade – Securing access to international markets by promoting trade liberalization and market-based and technology neutral approach to regulation in key international markets.
• Research & Development – Strategic and robust U.S. investment in telecommunications research including a permanent R&D tax credit, multi-year federal research plans, and a commitment to long-term research will enable the U.S. to remain a technology industry leader.
• Education & Talent – The future of the ICT industry in the U.S. depends on providing the necessary support for education in science, engineering, and technology for our students while enacting H-1B visa reforms to allow companies to attract and retain the best and brightest minds from around the world.
• Tax Reform – The President has announced a decision to press for tax reform in the 112th Congress. Such reform will affect the competitiveness of U.S. firms which are already disadvantaged by virtue of the fact the U.S. corporate tax rate is the second highest in the world. TIA will press for reform that will cut the effective U.S. corporate tax rate to a level that will enhance the international competitiveness of U.S. firms.

Drive Investment

• Tax Incentives – Through incremental tax credits, expensing, and bonds, the U.S. Government can increase investment in our nation’s next-generation broadband infrastructure.
• Market Based Regulations – A continued light-touch approach to regulations, as well as certainty in the marketplace will ensure continued investment in a technology neutral manner.

Enable Forward-Looking Technologies

• Spectrum Availability – Innovative, next-generation wireless devices, applications, and services requires spectrum availability for fixed and mobile broadband use; this can be achieved through voluntary incentive auctions, flexible regulations and reallocation of federal spectrum where feasible.
• Global Cyber Security – Promoting global approaches to cyber security policies in the U.S. and internationally to avoid policies that could negatively impact market access, interoperability and global security.
• Green ICT & Smart Grid – Appropriate policies driving ICT’s potential to reduce energy consumption in other more energy-intensive sectors through smart grid, smart buildings and travel substitution are key to create jobs and help U.S. industry compete successfully in global markets.
• Accessibility – By encouraging collaboration among stakeholders and the usage of voluntary consensus based standards the U.S. Government can increase the accessibility of technology by those with disabilities, encourage innovation and in doing so open up new employment opportunities for this vulnerable community.

About TIA

The Telecommunications Industry Association (TIA) represents the global information and communications technology (ICT) industry through standards development, advocacy, tradeshows, business opportunities, market intelligence and world-wide environmental regulatory analysis. Since 1924, TIA has been enhancing 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.

Join TIA at its new annual industry event - TIA 2011: Inside the Network - at the Gaylord Texan in Dallas, May 17-20, 2011.

TIA is accredited by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI). Visit tiaonline.org.

TIA's Board of Directors includes senior-level executives from ADTRAN, Alcatel-Lucent, ANDA Networks, AttivaCorp, Cisco Systems, Ericsson, Inc., GENBAND, Inc., Henkels & McCoy, ILS Technology, Intel Corporation, Intersect, Inc., LGE, Microsoft, Motorola, Nokia Siemens Networks, OneChip Photonics, Openwave, Inc., Panasonic Computer Solutions Co., Powerwave Technologies, Qualcomm, Research In Motion, Sumitomo Electric Lightwave Corporation, Tellabs, Tyco Electronics, Ulticom, Inc., Walker and Associates and WirefreeCom, Inc. Advisors to the Board include FAL Associates and Telcordia Technologies.

CONTACT:

Telecommunications Industry Association
Robin Buckley, 703-201-3524

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INDUSTRY KEYWORDS:   Technology  Consumer Electronics  Hardware  Internet  Networks  Telecommunications  Security  Public Policy/Government  Congressional News/Views  Mobile/Wireless  VoIP  Public Policy  White House/Federal Government

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