How can President Biden help rural America? Fix the internet

In his inaugural speech, President Joe Biden noted the various factions at odds with one another in America, including a rural and urban divide. Lawmakers and residents in rural America know one of the widest divisions is digital, and calls to fix slow or nonexistent internet service there have almost universal support among elected officials. Biden’s plan for rural America, according to his election website, calls for bringing 5G wireless coverage to every American and investing $20 billion in “rural broadband infrastructure.” Sascha Meinrath, the Palmer Chair in Telecommunications at Penn State, said the first step for the Biden administration should be an accurate assessment of internet speeds nationwide. He and others believe FCC estimations of speed are inaccurate and skew higher than they really are. Gigi Sohn, a distinguished fellow at Georgetown Law Institute for Technology Law & Policy, said the FCC has given out billions of dollars to service providers over the years that claim they will supply high-speed internet to rural areas. Those claims, Sohn said, often fall flat and she believes the government must require results. “It’s a problem that can be solved with money, yes, but it will also take coordination and oversight,” Sohn said.