The National Telecommunications and Information Administration has issued a request for comment on how federal policies can help grow and secure U.S. data centers to meet the rising demand from emerging technologies.
The RFC, published on the Federal Register Wednesday, seeks input for a report on data center infrastructure development policy recommendations on sustainable data center growth, NTIA said.
The Department of Commerce agency noted that the current count of over 5,000 U.S. data centers is expected to increase by 9 percent through 2030, as demand for computing and storage infrastructure from emerging technologies like artificial intelligence accelerates further.
According to projections, the U.S. does not have enough data centers to drive future AI breakthroughs, said Alan Davidson, assistant secretary of commerce for communications and information and NTIA administrator. “Our inquiry will lead to policy approaches that encourage the sustainable growth of this essential computing infrastructure across the country,” he added.
The NTIA’s comment request, which also solicits ideas fostering a resilient data center supply chain, was issued in coordination with the Department of Energy, which is pursuing science and technology solutions to address U.S. energy challenges.
The deadline for comment submission is on Nov. 4.