How Broadband, Workforce Development, and Standards Drive Data Center Growth
The National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) recently hosted a listening session titled “Bolstering Data Center Growth, Resilience, and Security.” The session built on NTIA’s 2024 request for comment and gathered input from industry, academia, and civil society experts to inform an upcoming report with actionable policy recommendations.
Patrick Lozada, Director of Global Policy at the Telecommunications Industry Association (TIA), outlined key issues impacting U.S. data centers, including broadband infrastructure, workforce development, voluntary standards, data center certifications and subsea cables. He also addressed the Build America Buy America (BABA) provision in the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) and shared policy actions and recommendations to bolster America’s digital infrastructure. This blog explores these topics in greater depth.
Broadband and Spectrum Innovation
High-speed broadband infrastructure is a prerequisite for efficient data center operation. High-capacity fiber optic cables form the backbone of connectivity, enabling rapid, reliable transmission of petabytes of data between facilities and end users. To meet a broad range of service demands, customers require both wired and wireless options.
Innovations in spectrum policy and wireless technology are enabling new connectivity models that can complement fiber deployments. These approaches help extend service reach, support redundancy, and expand connectivity options for data centers and their customers.
Although broadband availability clearly drives demand for data center–enabled services, 19.6 million Americans still lack broadband access according to the FCC. Closing this connectivity gap would expand the customer base for digital services and support the broader broadband and data center ecosystem.
For TIA, this means broadband expansion must be addressed alongside data center growth. Targeted investments in fiber infrastructure and complementary access technologies will create the conditions for both sectors to thrive, supporting U.S. economic competitiveness while enabling greater participation in the digital economy.
Workforce Development: Broadband Nation
Meeting the demand for reliable, high-speed connectivity requires a skilled workforce capable of deploying, maintaining, and upgrading broadband networks. The U.S. currently faces a critical shortage of trained fiber and broadband technicians, an issue that could slow broadband expansion and limit data center growth. Solving this challenge is particularly crucial as federal programs such as the $42.45 billion Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) initiative ramp up.
To help address this shortage, TIA and Questex launched Broadband Nation, a nationwide effort built around three core elements: a career development portal, a national brand campaign, and academic partnerships. The portal connects potential workers with training resources, job opportunities, and career information. The brand campaign promotes broadband careers through multi-channel outreach, emphasizing the critical role technicians play in connecting communities. Academic partnerships integrate broadband training into local programs, providing consistent, standardized instruction at the community level.
The program’s guiding principle is proactive engagement: reaching out to individuals and equipping them with the knowledge, skills, and certifications needed to succeed in the broadband industry. By strengthening the technician workforce, Broadband Nation supports the infrastructure foundation that U.S. data centers depend on.
Voluntary Standards and ANSI/TIA-942 Certification
Voluntary consensus standards help ensure the reliability, efficiency, and security of data centers. As an ANSI-accredited standards development organization, TIA has published numerous standards used worldwide to design, build, and operate these facilities.
Examples include the ANSI/TIA-568 series for fiber and copper cabling; ANSI/TIA-569-E for ICT pathways; ANSI/TIA-606-D for labeling; and ANSI/TIA-607-E for grounding and bonding. ANSI/TIA-1005-A provides standards for cabling infrastructure in industrial environments and ANSI/TIA-5017 covers the physical security of buildings and network systems.
At the center of TIA’s portfolio is ANSI/TIA-942, the globally recognized standard for reliable design and operations of data center infrastructure. It defines four rated levels of reliability and availability:
- Rated 1: Basic, no redundancy
- Rated 2: Redundant components
- Rated 3: Concurrently maintainable without downtime
- Rated 4: Fully fault-tolerant
TIA-approved auditors perform ANSI/TIA-942 certification, which provides an independent assessment of a facility’s compliance with these requirements. More than 700 data centers have been certified worldwide. Some governments require third-party certifications, including ANSI/TIA-942, for public-sector facilities.
Under the OMB Circular A-119 policy document, U.S. federal agencies are encouraged to adopt voluntary consensus standards in procurement. Applying ANSI/TIA-942 in government purchasing could strengthen operational resilience, align with global best practices, and ensure data centers meet the highest industry benchmarks.
Build America, Buy America Requirements
The Build America, Buy America (BABA) provision in the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) establishes domestic content requirements for products used in federally funded infrastructure projects. To qualify, manufactured products must be made in the United States and contain at least 55 percent U.S.-sourced components by value.
These rules were designed primarily to address physical infrastructure such as steel and concrete, not the complex electronics at the core of modern data centers. This key sector depends on global microelectronics supply chains that can’t be easily or quickly restructured. As a result, no commercial data centers currently meet BABA requirements, and it is unlikely they could in the near term.
To date, Congress and successive administrations have provided limited waivers to facilitate deployment. Maintaining these exemptions is critical to ensuring that U.S. data centers—and the federal agencies relying on them—can access the best available technologies. Without such flexibility, compliance challenges could slow deployment and reduce the competitiveness of U.S. digital infrastructure.
The Crucial Role of Subsea Cables
Subsea cables carry approximately 99 percent of intercontinental internet traffic, forming the backbone of global digital trade and supporting more than $700 billion in annual U.S. digital services exports. They are closely tied to the growth of domestic data centers, which process and deliver the services transmitted across them.
Emerging technologies such as multicore fiber (MCF) promise to significantly increase bandwidth and transmission efficiency for both terrestrial and subsea applications. This capacity growth will be crucial as data demands accelerate, driven by artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning (ML), and other high-throughput use cases. Both Data Centers and subsea cables will be early adopters of MCF.
Policy measures can help ensure the timely deployment of new subsea infrastructure. TIA recommends streamlining the Team Telecom review process, removing duplicative steps, maintaining existing licensing terms, and eliminating overlapping or outdated permitting requirements. Together, these actions would support continued investment in subsea cables, improve U.S. data center capacity, and bolster the resilience of America’s international connectivity.
Summary
Broadband access, a skilled workforce with specialized technical expertise in data center operations, adoption of voluntary standards and related third-party certifications are essential for expanding the U.S. data center sector. Practical procurement policies and streamlined infrastructure approvals are equally important. As Lozada emphasizes, coordinated action on these fronts will help bolster resilience and security, while positioning the U.S. to meet increasing data demands and drive broader economic growth.
For more information on TIA’s work in standards, policy, and workforce development, visit tiaonline.org.
