Anne Stauffer

States play a crucial role in efforts to expand broadband to the millions of Americans who still lack access to this vital service. Nearly all states have responded to the growing demand for reliable, high-speed internet by creating broadband offices or designating responsibility for broadband to a state agency, task force, or council. While their structures might vary, state programs share many similarities, including working with local officials and other stakeholders to close gaps in service, managing data on broadband access, and administering grant programs.

Federal funding and expertise are necessary to achieving universal connectivity, but every level of government has a role to play in bridging the digital divide — especially for completing the “last mile,” the part of the network that connects a local internet provider to residences and small businesses.

As high-speed, reliable internet access becomes increasingly important in modern life, state leaders are seeking ways to fund projects to expand this vital service. Although the mechanisms that states use are fairly consistent—grants and loans, among others—they have different approaches for distributing funds and encouraging investment. This brief explores the ways in which states support broadband deployment projects and what they aim to accomplish.

“Build it and they will come.” This line has become shorthand for the idea that new infrastructure, once built, attracts customers. But with broadband — the technology that brings high-speed, reliable internet into our homes, schools, farms and workplaces—the quote may have an unhappy twist: if you don’t build it, they won’t have a chance. What’s missing is the infrastructure.

As policymakers work with industry and stakeholders to ensure that all Americans have access, they need reliable data to effectively target funding and programs to meet their goals. The primary source of information on connectivity is the Federal Communications Commission, which gathers data from carriers offering broadband service. Since 2011, that data—collected on Form 477—has been displayed on the Fixed Broadband Deployment map (previously called the National Broadband Map), which shows which entities are offering fixed broadband, where they are offering it, and at what speeds.

Federal and state lawmakers are considering an array of measures aimed at bringing broadband access to the 24 million Americans who lack this service. During the current legislative session, lawmakers have enacted dozens of pieces of legislation to fund connectivity programs, direct more support to projects in underserved areas, streamline policy and procedures, and conduct needed research. These laws and other proposed bills reflect lawmakers’ recognition of how essential high-speed internet has become to peoples’ lives—and the economy.