Page 1 GAO-23-105626 Telecommunications Workforce
December 15, 2022
Congressional Committees
Telecommunications Workforce: Additional Workers Will Be Needed to Deploy
Broadband, but Concerns Exist About Availability
Feder
al and industry investments have made broadband available to the majority of Americans,
but at least 25 percent of the population in certain areas reported not having internet service,
according to the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2015-2019 American Community Survey data.
According to a recent media report, people living in rural areas, low-income areas, and some
predominantly Black and Hispanic and tribal communities are disproportionately affected by a
lack of broadband availability.
1
B
roadband has become critical for daily life as everyday activities like work, school, and health
care appointments increasingly occur online. Broadband also helps provide access to economic
opportunity and civic engagement.
The C
OVID-19 pandemic underscored the importance of access to broadband. Recently
enacted legislation includes large increases in federal funding for broadband deployment. For
example, the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act authorized the Broadband Equity, Access,
and Deployment (BEAD) program and appropriated $42.45 billion in funding for this program
that may be used for broadband deployment.
2
The Infr
astructure Investment and Jobs Act also includes a provision for GAO to review and
estimate the number of skilled telecommunications workers who will be required to build and
maintain broadband infrastructure in rural areas based on current and potential need, as well as
the wireless infrastructure needed to support 5G wireless technology.
3
This report: (1) describes
the current telecommunications workforce and estimates the number of additional skilled
telecommunications workers needed to deploy broadband and 5G based on funding from
selected recent federal programs and (2) examines what existing data reveal about a potential
labor shortage for skilled telecommunications workers and stakeholder views on workforce
concerns relevant to these skilled workers. The enclosed report addresses these two objectives
in greater detail.
1
Sarah Atske and Andrew Perrin, Home Broadband Adoption, Computer Ownership Vary by Race, Ethnicity in the
U.S., Pew Research Center (Washington, D.C.: Jul. 16, 2021).
2
Pub. L. No. 117-58, § 60102, 135 Stat. 429, 1182 (authorizing BEAD) (codified as amended at 47 U.S.C. § 1702),
div. J, tit. II, 135 Stat. 429, 1353 (appropriating BEAD funding) (2021).
3
IIJA § 60604. The fifth generation of mobile communications, referred to as 5G, promises consumers faster data
rates with lower latency in transmitting data. We refer to 5G as mobile broadband in this report.
