A Comprehensive Assessment of America’s Infrastructure

America’s infrastructure is the foundation on which our national economy, global competitiveness, and quality of life depend. While often taken for granted when it is working properly, every American household or business immediately feels the impact of just one inefficiency or failure in our built environment. Since 1998, ASCE has issued a quadrennial assessment of the United States’ infrastructure networks, known as the Report Card for America’s Infrastructure. For more than two decades, the message behind the unflattering grades was consistent: federal, state, and local governments, in addition to the private sector, have not been prioritizing our interdependent infrastructure systems. In sum, the bill on our infrastructure systems was past due. As the fabric of work, society, and commerce has moved into the digital realm, a fast and reliable connection to the internet has become essential. In 2000, only 1% of U.S. adults had broadband access at home, compared to 80% today. America’s economy requires reliable broadband access, with research showing that the nation would have lost $1.3 trillion in economic growth between 2010 and 2020 if broadband speeds and adoption had remained at 2010 levels. While the total amount of public spending on broadband is difficult to estimate, the private sector has invested approximately $2.2 trillion in broadband infrastructure since 1996, with the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) recently providing an additional $65 billion in federal dollars. Yet, broadband access and adoption continue to face several challenges. Estimates show that 10% of households (12.7 million) do not have a broadband subscription, whether at home or on a mobile device. As new investments are deployed to connect the remainder of Americans to broadband, extreme weather poses challenges to internet reliability and new technologies create a rapidly changing environment. Recommendations to raise the grade:

• Incentivize internet service providers to provide better service data for key performance indicators such as delivered speeds and reliability of service.
• Provide dedicated, predictable funding for broadband affordability programs.
• Account for life-cycle costs and possible recovery costs from systems failures when delivering broadband projects.
• Facilitate state-based reporting on the implementation of broadband plans, the use of BEAD, and other federal broadband funding.
• Encourage partnerships with state and local agencies and broadband providers to facilitate service uptake for vulnerable communities.
• Expand Dig Once policies to include broadband deployment plans in more public works projects, specifically transportation, energy, and water improvements that are already requiring work above and below the ground.
• Incentivize the latest up-to-date codes and standards for utility poles and other structures that are often used for broadband deployment.