Op-ed | To Withstand Emergencies Like Helene, Broadband Policies Need to Last

It’s clear we need more resiliency in our broadband policy. If nothing else, the hurricanes ravaging the U.S. Southeast have shown us that. In the last few weeks, pervasive wireless and wireline communication outages have left people that are already struggling in the wake of disaster completely cut off from resources, important news updates, and loved ones. Going forward, we could mitigate this risk by designing our networks with resiliency in mind—like by constructing overlapping networks where possible. Building resilience into our digital infrastructure is an obvious must. But without resilient policies, U.S. broadband networks will never be able to weather the increasing intense storms. Policymakers must continue to push forward strong, consistent, and consumer-friendly broadband policies—regardless of whether disasters are taking place and making headlines.