Making sure that every American has high-speed internet access is goal for broadband infrastructure
“Access to broadband today will have the same dramatic impact on rural communities as the rural electrification efforts in the last century,” Clyburn said in a statement. “When I formed the Rural Broadband Task Force, our mission was to address the digital divide. The disparate effects of that divide have been amplified during the COVID-19 pandemic and exposed the urgency of ensuring universal access to high-speed internet.”
Clyburn’s proposal won immediate support from Democratic commissioners at the Federal Communications Commission, including acting Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel, as well as a wide variety of industry groups and advocacy organizations.
“For the last year the conversation around closing the digital divide has centered on short-term, urgent solutions necessitated by the COVID-19 pandemic,” John Windhausen Jr., executive director of the nonprofit Schools, Health & Libraries Broadband Coalition, said in a statement. “While these efforts are critical, we also need long-term solutions to address the enormous inequities in our broadband landscape so we are better prepared for the next crisis.”
So far it isn’t clear exactly how Democrats plan to move their infrastructure bill through Congress. Party leaders have left open the possibility of bypassing the Senate filibuster by passing the infrastructure package through the budget reconciliation process, similar to last week’s relief package, but they say they first want to appeal for Republican support.
Broadband, especially in rural areas, is a longtime priority for Republican lawmakers, but they have their own ideas for how it should be deployed. Mississippi Sen. Roger Wicker, the top Republican on the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee, earlier this month announced legislation that would use proceeds from an FCC spectrum auction to establish a rural broadband fund worth up to $65 billion.
“This legislation would preserve valuable resources to expand broadband access in unserved areas, secure the nation’s communications supply chain, and promote the development of next-generation technologies,” Wicker said in a statement.
