Scott Wallsten

The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) included some $42.45 billion to ensure “access to affordable, reliable, high-speed broadband” throughout the United States. However, $42 billion is unlikely to be sufficient to serve all households. To maximize the number of households receiving service, awards need to ensure sufficient quality at the lowest cost.

The National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) is beginning an epic effort to implement the broadband provisions of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA). Congress allocated $42.45 billion to build rural broadband through the Broadband Equity, Access, and Development (BEAD) Program, and these resources have the potential to provide internet access to most if not all households that do not currently have access. NTIA states in its Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) that its focus is to provide service to unserved and underserved areas.

The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) has made money for broadband and other infrastructure much less scarce than it normally is. Unfortunately, the real resources—labor and equipment—appear to be far scarcer than they normally are. Even with the additional money, the IIJA will not succeed if these constraints on real resources are not addressed. The only real-time solution is to waive the “buy American” rules on equipment and encourage more immigration to help ease the labor shortage.

Several core recommendations emerge from this history of broadband policymaking:

The Federal Communications Commission asks a series of questions about the current set of programs supported though the Universal Service Fund, particularly in light of the broadband initiatives funded through the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (ARPA) and the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA). Commenters have focused heavily on how to fund universal service programs given the problems with the current contribution mechanism and ways to modify existing support programs. We have reviewed these comments and respectfully submit reply comments.

Commenting on the digital divide earlier this month, Vice President Harris said that “one of the most common reasons [is c]ost, the expense of [broadband].” She then praised the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP), part of the recently enacted Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, for making so many Americans “eligible to receive a monthly discount on their monthly bill.” In fact, the ACP does more than that.

The Technology Policy Institute recommends that the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA):

The Federal Communications Commission released the second of its twice-yearly data on broadband availability on October 29, showing data as of December, 2020. The data, which are available at the Census Block level, show a continued increase in availability and speeds. The Technology Policy Institute (TPI) analyzed the data and incorporated it into the TPI Broadband Map following its release. Highlights of the new data are:

In June 2021, Consumer Reports (CR) released the results of a nationally representative survey related to broadband use. On the heels of that survey, CR launched its “Let’s Broadband Together” initiative, which uses crowd-sourced methods to gather more data.

The Technology Policy Institute's Broadband Connectivity Index (BCI) built into the TPI Broadband Map is derived using a principal components analysis that explicitly takes into account many factors of access to broadband.