Majority Staff Memo | Connecting Every American: The Future of Rural Broadband Funding

According to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), 8.3 million households lack access to high-speed broadband. Providing universal access to communications service—initially voice service and now broadband—has always been a challenge in the United States. Although connecting urban, populated areas is relatively easy, serving sparsely populated rural areas is difficult due to differences in terrain and population density. To address this digital divide, Congress has tasked multiple agencies—primarily the FCC, National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA), and Department of Agriculture (USDA)—with providing financial support to aid the deployment of communications technology to unserved areas. According to the Government Accountability Office (GAO), there are more than 130 federal programs—administered by 15 agencies—that could be used to expand these services. The Sept 21 Communications and Technology Subcommittee hearing is an opportunity to examine the effectiveness of the federal funding programs and consider how they should operate in the future. Topics include: 1) the FCC's Universal Service Fund; 2) COVID-related programs including Covid-19 Telehealth, the Emergency Broadband Benefit/Affordable Connectivity Program, and Emergency Connectivity Fund; and 3) Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) programs including the Broadband Infrastructure Deployment (BEAD) Program.