Lawmakers focus on bridging broadband divide highlighted amid pandemic

After the COVID-19 pandemic exposed the deep broadband divide across the country, lawmakers said the recently passed infrastructure bill will connect many communities that struggled as much of daily life moved online. The newly passed infrastructure bill allocates $65 billion for broadband access, aimed at rural areas, lower-income populations and Tribal communities. Rep Fred Upton (R-MI) recalled how students in his state were unable to attend classes at the start of the pandemic because they didn’t have access to broadband. “One young man who was from my county said, ‘That’s not going to help me. We don’t have broadband in my town. What am I going to do, go to McDonalds?” This continues to be an issue for millions of students who are in hybrid or virtual school environments. An even larger number of students are “under-connected”, meaning they have internet devices in their home with slow connectivity. The Pew Research Center found that Black and Hispanic adults are less likely than white adults to have access to high speed internet connection or computer devices. Pew also found that 34 percent of households making less than $30,000 a year had trouble paying for broadband amidst the pandemic outbreak. The infrastructure legislation plans to address the discrepancies across these groups. Upton said the stakes for success are high. “Broadband today is similar to what the interstate highway system identified as a need with President Eisenhower in the 50s,” he said.