Broadband in Five Years

House Majority Whip James E. Clyburn (D-SC) joined Glen Echo Group CEO Maura Corbett for a conversation at the Benton Institute for Broadband & Society’s 40^th Anniversary celebration. In the wake of the unprecedented investment in broadband included in the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, Corbett asked Clyburn where he thinks we’ll be in five years. “Oh, in five years,” Clyburn answered, “I think this is going to be a successful venture.” Representative Clyburn said attention now turns to states, like his home, South Carolina. Clyburn got a call from Governor Henry McMaster (R-SC) who said, “I'm getting ready to do the State of the State address and I'm going to be asking for a significant amount of dollars for your broadband program." “That's the way he said it. And he did. And he had already done a lot. And when we passed the infrastructure bill, he says, ‘Every residence, every business in this state, we are going to have connected in 3 to 4 years.’” Governor McMaster was the very first governor in the country to endorse Donald Trump. And Representative Clyburn is known for his influential endorsement of President Biden during the 2020 primaries. But the two see eye-to-eye on broadband.