(Editor’s note: The Broadband Report is a regular feature in WRAL TechWire.)

WASHINGTON, D.C. – President Obama continues his push for more and faster broadband in America.

President Obama signed a Presidential Memorandum last Monday formally creating a Broadband Opportunity Council. This new council will focus on increasing investments in high-speed connectivity and lowering deployment barriers throughout the country.

The Broadband Opportunity Council includes 25 federal agencies and departments that will engage with industry and other stakeholders to understand ways the government can better support the needs of communities seeking broadband investment. It also will help identify regulatory barriers impeding broadband deployment or competition, and take steps to remove such barriers.

The council will be co-chaired by representatives from the U.S. Department of Commerce and U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), according to a White House announcement and fact sheet.

Secretary Vilsack will represent the USDA. Assistant Secretary for Communications and Information and NTIA Administrator Lawrence Strickling has been appointed by Commerce Secretary Penny Pritzker to serve as Commerce’s representative on the council.

The NTIA has been a major force in helping to bring broadband to areas of the country where service was either limited or non-existent through the Broadband Technology Opportunities Program, funded initially by the 2009 American Recovery and Reinvestment Act and now through the new BroadandUSA initiative.

“At NTIA, we have seen firsthand how essential broadband is to schools, public safety, health care, businesses and most other sectors of society,” said Strickling. “The interagency effort the council is undertaking will help marshal the resources of multiple federal agencies to promote opportunities to advance broadband deployment and adoption across the country.”

The council will report back to the president within 150 days with the steps each agency will take to advance these aforementioned goals, including specific regulatory actions or budget proposals.

In January, the president traveled to Cedar Falls, Iowa to announce his plan to promote “Broadband that Works,” a public-private effort to help more Americans, in more communities around the country, get access to fast and affordable broadband.

The White House also plans to host a Community Broadband Summit in June.