Sen. Ron Wyden pushes to raise standards for stimulus-funded broadband

Sen Ron Wyden (D-OR) is calling on the Treasury Department to fund broadband projects in communities without access to 100Mbps upload and download speeds with the money allocated by the American Rescue Plan earlier in 2021. The plan’s language suggests funding can only go to “unserved” or “underserved” communities. The Federal Communications Commission classifies communities with speeds of below 25Mbps down and 3Mbps up as “underserved.” In a letter to Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, Sen Wyden is asking that the department expand that definition to communities with speeds less than 100Mbps up and down. “Simply put, it is not possible for a family of four to telework and engage in remote schooling while sharing 3 Mbps of upload bandwidth," he wrote.