State Legislative Session Roundup: Broadband

The United States lags in 16th place globally when it comes to broadband access, and according to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, we also rank among the countries with the highest costs for broadband subscriptions. With one third of the country remaining digitally disconnected, we clearly need to examine and allow alternative models of ownership, technology, economic development, and digital inclusion in our states.

This year, legislation introduced and enacted in statehouses across the nation demonstrated that policymakers understand now is the time to invest in broadband infrastructure in order to rebuild prosperity. By advancing measures to create and improve existing broadband task forces, expand the build-out of needed infrastructure, support community-based broadband while countering corporate attempts to increase their own profits at the expense of communities, provide more affordable services to unserved and underserved communities, and fight back against the removal of consumer protections, state lawmakers took critical steps forward in ensuring the economic competitiveness of small businesses and the economic security of their residents.