Hillary Clinton’s Broadband Plan Draws Criticism From Experts

On the campaign trail, Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton sketches a vision where every home in the US is connected to broadband. In just four years, children in inner cities and rural areas alike will be able to access the internet to do their homework, Clinton tells voters. And entrepreneurs everywhere in this country will be able to get online to sell their products or start new businesses. The cost? She doesn’t say, but the former secretary of state urges a bold push to quickly close the digital divide. “I happen to think we should be ambitious,” Clinton said. “Let’s connect every household in America to broadband by the year 2020.”

Beyond the price tag, it is unclear which part of the federal government would execute this plan and whether Republicans in Congress would back the legislation that is needed to deliver on this campaign promise—a challenge Clinton couldn’t overcome when she was pushing similar initiatives while serving as a New York senator. Clinton’s high-speed-internet initiative would be part of broader infrastructure legislation she has said she would push Congress to act on within the first 100 days of her administration. A study would be needed to determine the cost of the broadband plan, where coverage gaps remain and which federal agency should take the lead, a senior Clinton campaign aide said. If the former secretary of state is elected, one of the first steps she would take would be to examine federal broadband programs that were implemented under President Barack Obama and then build on efforts that have proved successful, said the senior campaign aide. Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump hasn't laid out a plan for expanding broadband access in this country.