A Vision for the 2020s: Access to Broadband in the Next Decade

American democracy, like any democracy, requires the freedom to speak. But American democracy has always recognized the corollary: the strength of speech rests on access to communications networks. From the Post Office, to the telegraph, the telephone, and broadband, governmental action of various stripes has helped connect Americans to each other. The Benton Foundation serves that mission. Our goal: To bring open, affordable, high-capacity broadband to all people in the U.S. to ensure a thriving democracy in order to deliver new opportunities and strengthen communities to bridge our divides. The challenge of public policy is always to maintain fundamental goals with an eye towards changing conditions. And for broadband, the times are changing. Fiber extensions, municipal broadband, and prospects of 5G and fixed wireless broadband ensure that the communications infrastructure of the next decade will not be the same as today. That is why the Benton Foundation is embarking on a comprehensive, year-long review to propose how best to update America’s approach to broadband access for the coming decade.

[Jonathan Sallet is a Benton Senior Fellow. He works to promote broadband access and deployment, to advance competition, including through antitrust, and to preserve and protect internet openness.]