States Risk Leaving Broadband Money on the Table

State lawmakers often joke about “waiting on Washington” to pass laws, distribute funds, or approve permits—a time-honored tradition in the halls of state governments. But today, when it comes to expanding access to broadband service, the federal government is waiting on the states. Experts estimate that providing every American with access to affordable high-speed internet—a need highlighted by the COVID-19 pandemic—will cost $80 billion or more. Yet more than a year after Congress passed the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA), just 24 states have confirmed plans to use billions in federal dollars provided through the act’s Capital Projects Fund (CPF) for broadband expansion. States actually can use resources from two ARPA funds for broadband and related expenses, and although they can use CPF monies for other capital projects, the Treasury Department named affordable, reliable broadband as a “key priority” of the fund and made hundreds of millions of dollars available to states for that purpose right now. But much of it is sitting unused. So what’s standing in the way of full-scale deployment of these CPF resources? Among other things, state legislatures are choosing not to use CPF for broadband because they are waiting on other, potentially larger pots of federal money that may be months away rather than seizing this important opportunity now.

[Kathryn de Wit is project director of the Broadband Access Initiative.]