Executive Order 13616: Accelerating Broadband Infrastructure Deployment
President: Barack Obama
Directed agencies to standardize and speed access to federal lands, buildings and rights of way for broadband facilities.
Status: In effect. Is Executive Order 13616 still in effect? Yes. Executive Order 13616 remains an unrevoked framework for broadband deployment on federal property. The federal Permitting Dashboard continues to identify its Broadband Executive Order Working Group and maintain the centralized broadband document inventory required by the order. Sources: Federal Register 2012 executive order disposition table, EO 13616; Signed Executive Order 13616; Federal Permitting Dashboard, Broadband Inventory.
What does Executive Order 13616 do?
EO 13616 created a GSA-DHS co-chaired working group to reduce inconsistent federal processes for broadband deployment. It required clearer online information, common applications and contracts, coordinated permitting and “dig once” practices, including attention to tribal trust lands and underserved communities. The Permitting Dashboard still maintains a broadband inventory for the fourteen agencies and offices in the executive-order working group.
Before and after
Before the order
Applicants confronted different forms, fees, policies and review practices across federal property managers.
After the order
Agencies coordinated procedures, templates and public information for wired and wireless deployment.
Who had to do what
| Agency / office | Action | Timing / position |
|---|---|---|
| Working group | Coordinate federal-property broadband policy | Continuing |
| Land and property agencies | Publish forms policies and procedures | Continuing |
| Transportation agencies | Promote coordinated excavation and rights-of-way practices | Continuing under later law |
What happened next
EO 13616 issued.
Legal and source detail
How it works legally
Property, telecommunications, NEPA, historic-preservation and tribal-trust laws still govern approvals. Section 6409 of Public Law 112-96 separately directs federal property access tools.
Sources by type
If a source is unavailable, first check the cited publisher or another official repository. The cited publisher remains the authority.
Primary and official sources
Orders, laws, court records and official implementation material.
- Permitting Dashboard — Broadband Inventory (opens in a new tab) Official record
- GovInfo — EO 13616 (opens in a new tab) Order text
- NTIA — BroadbandUSA (opens in a new tab) Official record
How we checked this
Last checked against the sources above on September 15, 2026. How we research →