President Biden is providing the funding to bridge the digital divide but one rule could squander this opportunity

Twenty-five years ago, when I headed up the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA), my colleagues and I identified what has come to be known as the digital divide while researching the growing gap between the haves and have-nots of internet access. Back then, we never dreamed that the US government would one day commit $42 billion dollars in the form of the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) Program to close the divide. Yet, the Biden administration and Congress have provided the focus and the funds we need to get every American online. Despite this, we are at risk of squandering this once-in-a-generation opportunity. The requirements for a BEAD grant include something called a letter of credit. The current rules say any broadband service provider applying for a grant to connect underserved communities must deposit 25% of the award amount with a bank. That deposit will remain untouchable until well after the build is complete. This is in addition to a separate minimum 25% match requirement. Together, these two rules mean grantees will have to front millions of dollars before they receive a dime from Uncle Sam. Without a course correction to the BEAD program, this record investment could be an opportunity wasted. Large companies and populous communities are capable of bearing these costs; but these rules will exclude many of the providers most capable of assisting in the effort to close the digital divide, slowing broadband expansion and keeping America’s most marginalized communities out of the digital revolution for another generation.

[Larry Irving was the Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Communications and Information (NTIA) during the Clinton Administration. He is president of the Irving Group and is the outgoing Board Chair at Connect Humanity.]