Rethinking universal service: How the next administration can narrow the digital divide

[Commentary] Though tech policy was not a significant focus for the Trump campaign, one aspect should be vitally important to the new administration: expanding broadband access.

Policymakers across the political spectrum recognize the importance of narrowing the digital divide. Unfortunately, while many acknowledge the problem, a solution has proven elusive, in part because of the flotsam and jetsam of legacy universal service programs that hamper efforts at revolutionary change. Through universal service reform, the incoming administration has an opportunity to achieve significant and lasting reform on an issue that has bipartisan support and that affects the population upon which President-elect Trump focused his campaign message—those at risk of being left behind by the forces of change.

In March 2016, AEI published my white paper outlining a proposal for more comprehensive universal service reform. The high cost for monthly broadband service is only one of many factors that prevent low-income households from purchasing internet access. Even with a subsidy, many families cannot afford a computer, while others do not fully appreciate the value of online connectivity. To address these multiple drivers, the white paper encourages Congress and the Federal Communications Commission to take a more holistic approach, encompassing not only a targeted monthly subsidy but also digital literacy programs in local communities and a one-time equipment purchase subsidy for qualified households. It also reflects a market-based approach, focused on increasing the purchasing power of low-income households rather than simply giving them a monthly handout.

[Lyons is an associate professor at Boston College Law School]