Give everybody the internet

Getting the internet to everyone is not just about tech: It’s even more a policy question, one tied up in politics. Success will mean a multi-layered effort at the local, state, and federal levels. “There’s been this notion that somehow broadband service is something that we should leave to the marketplace, and it’s a colossal failure," said Benton Institute senior fellow and public advocate Gigi Sohn. “We need policymakers to understand that broadband is absolutely essential in the ability of people to be able to participate in society, in democracy, and in the economy,” said Jon Sallet, also a senior fellow at the Benton Institute. His worry: “We have a digital divide that we’ve talked about for years, but the threat of this crisis is that it becomes a digital chasm.”

Getting everyone on the internet is impossible without government action at the state and, ultimately, federal level, though there is hardly a consensus on what exactly needs to happen. Some proposals cost money; others do not. Multiple experts I spoke with pointed to the $100 billion Accessible, Affordable Internet for All Act put forth by House Majority Whip Jim Clyburn (D-SC) as a solid option. But there are areas where the federal government can act that don’t involve new money, or at least not sweeping public investments and policy changes, and instead are aimed at patching issues right now. The FCC has $2 billion in E-Rate funds that could be directed to the surrounding communities (outside of the classroom), but thus far, it hasn’t happened. “I do believe the FCC could do that tomorrow if it wanted to,” Sohn said. But if it won’t, she said, “Congress could move the needle without paying a red cent right now.”

Can the country undertake some sort of internet-for-everyone moonshot? If there were ever momentum around the issue, it’s now. It’s been done before, as part of the New Deal and President Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s efforts to bring electricity to rural America. The idea of public electrification was met with enormous resistance from private industry in the 1930s, but today, the idea that everyone should have accessible, affordable electricity is a no-brainer. It’s time we think about the internet that way, too.