Rosenworcel Statement on Rural Digital Opportunity Fund

While the spirit of this effort is right on—we have a broadband problem—the way we go about addressing it is not right. It will leave so many people, so many communities, and so many places behind. Let me explain why.

1. We need maps before money and data before deployment.
2. We fail to recognize that cost is a barrier to broadband availability.
3. This broadband fund is backward-looking with stale service speeds and data caps.
4. Haste makes waste. This effort has been pushed out so fast I fear we are only starting to understand what is not workable in this framework.