High-speed internet is as essential as water and electricity

The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act signed into law by President Joe Biden on November 15, 2021, was hailed by the White House and advocates as a historic investment to improve internet access in America. As a researcher who studies internet policy and digital inequality, I believe the infrastructure plan should be celebrated as a historic moment for broadband, but not so much because of the money it brings to the table. Rather, it is because of the way the law treats internet access in America. In the law, Congress finally recognizes that “access to affordable, reliable, high-speed broadband is essential to full participation in modern life in the United States.” In other words, broadband access is like access to running water or electricity. It is essential infrastructure, the lack of which is a barrier to economic competitiveness and the “equitable distribution of essential public services, including health care and education.” The law goes further by acknowledging that the “digital divide disproportionately affects communities of color, lower-income areas, and rural areas,” and orders the Federal Communications Commission to take action against discrimination of access based on income level, race, ethnicity, color, religion or national origin. This is an important recognition of the role that broadband access plays in perpetuating cycles of poverty and community underdevelopment. By correcting course, the new law is an important step toward affordable internet for all.

[Hernán Galperin is an associate professor of communication at the University of Southern California Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism.]