Digital Discrimination and Broadband Subsidies: Which Matters?

Buried deep within the stunning array of broadband subsidy provisions contained in the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act of 2021 lies Section 60506—labeled “Digital Discrimination”—which requires the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to issue rules to prevent “digital discrimination of access based on income level, race, ethnicity, color, religion, or national origin,” while taking into account the issues of “technical and economic feasibility.”1 Although Section 60506 perhaps represents a sign of our political times,2 there simply is no credible evidence of a racial disparity in broadband deployment. Minorities have equal or better availability than do White Americans. However, affordability holds back more widespread broadband adoption. Adoption subsidies, therefore, are the more fruitful path to increasing and maintaining broadband adoption. This is, of course, obvious. Broadband is nearly universally available, with 92% having service at the 100/20 Mbps level or better. Since the lack of deployment is largely a rural issue, the argument that minorities, who tend to live in urban areas, have less access to broadband is implausible. Adoption in the home, however, was 75% in 2021, and has grown slowly in the past few years. A lack of interest is certainly the key driver of a lack of adoption, but affordability is relevant at the margins, and low prices may have some effect even those without present interest in the service. FCC resources devoted to Digital Discrimination would be better spent on improving the efficacy of the Affordable Connectivity Program.