"Dig once" advances via executive order

A Government Accountability Office report issued June 27 outlines the advantages and disadvantages of requiring fiber optic conduit to be installed during construction of certain federally funded highway projects. The report release was preceded on June 13 by an executive order requiring federal agencies to ensure that broadband infrastructure projects, such as those laying fiber-optic cables, coincide with ongoing highway construction whenever possible to reduce private companies’ costs of expanding their high-speed internet networks. The order is similar to legislation introduced in both the House and Senate but never passed.