The American Rescue Plan is the broadband down payment the country needs

The Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021 and the American Rescue Plan (ARP) Act offer billions of broadband-related dollars to reduce consumer prices, build out network infrastructure, and fund digital skills programming. How should state and local leaders balance it all? We recommend a two-phase strategy.

The first phase should prioritize immediate relief. Leaders should leverage new resources to subsidize broadband subscriptions, lower device prices, and provide digital navigation and literacy support to ensure these affordability programs extend through the 2021-22 school year. Leaders should also prioritize only those network investments that can quickly initiate new service, such as E-rate connections through qualifying institutions like schools. Critically, state and local governments should use ARP funds (if permitted) or local resources to launch state and local digital equity offices to coordinate these programs, including benefits to both households and small businesses.

The second phase should predevelop a durable digital equity plan using ARP’s one-time funding infusion (and any additional local resources if necessary). New digital equity offices should aggressively measure digital need across their jurisdictions, including speed testing, accurate pricing data, physical network gaps, and locations for wraparound equity programming. Whichever agency manages broadband networks should then use the measurement data to develop a long-range capital plan to reach universal adoption, including pricing out capital investments with outside vendors and the specifications to launch cooperative-, civic-, or public-owned networks. If executed well, this strategy can help state and local leaders reduce the digital divide today while designing a plan to permanently eliminate it in the coming decade.