Current proposals are not enough to close the digital divide

The Federal Communications Commission and the Biden administration have taken significant steps to fill the broadband gap in the United States, but bridging the divide is not easy. Figuring out where the broadband gaps are is no small task, and current mapping efforts fall short by overstating the amount of broadband in given locations—a product of relying on industry-reported data which is inherently incomplete. While efforts like the Broadband DATA Act, passed last year, will improve mapping issues, it takes time— both for the actual work and for bureaucratic snafus. The biggest challenge for broadband deployment remains politics and lack of knowledge, which affects all future broadband plans. Political allocation of broadband dollars has always resulted in the money being used for political favors rather than additional broadband, and current government proposals have failed to research why people who can buy broadband choose not to. The studies that do exist find that price has not been a primary barrier to adoption, and that targeted efforts by private broadband providers have been best at encouraging adoption. The most effective approach for filling the broadband gap would be to add money to the FCC’s process for allocating funding. Its subsidy auctions are transparent and economic and hold money recipients accountable for their results. Using the FCC should effectively eliminate political waste and provide the best economic incentives.

[Mark Jamison is a visiting scholar at the American Enterprise Institute and is concurrently the director and Gunter Professor of the Public Utility Research Center at the University of Florida’s Warrington College of Business.]