PPI has long advocated robust federal support for broadband expansion. The infrastructure bill passed by the Senate provides that essential support. More than $42 billion would go to the states to fund broadband network deployments. Another $14 billion would fund a broadband subsidy program for low-income Americans. And almost $3 billion would go for digital inclusion.
Added to previous money already appropriated for broadband expansion and support since the pandemic started, this funding will take the United States a long way toward closing the digital divide, both in rural and urban areas. True, we could quibble with some of the details of how the money is distributed. Nevertheless, the bipartisan Senate bill would accomplish important progress on broadband.
From this perspective, there isn’t any need to address broadband again in the upcoming reconciliation process. Over the past year and a half, billions of dollars has been appropriated for broadband expansion and support, even before the infrastructure bill. The states also have a huge amount of funding from the American Rescue Plan to use for broadband if they want.
As documented in the our June 2021 report, “A Radically Pragmatic Agenda to Connect Rural America,” history shows how easy it can be for federal spending to be misspent in ways that do not contribute to closing the digital divide. We don’t want to repeat history. The key now is to focus on successful implementation of the resources in the infrastructure bill and already in the pipeline — that’s the way to get the biggest broadband bang for the buck.
