Rep Antonio Delgado (D-NY-19) reintroduced legislation to help end the digital divide and deliver affordable, quality broadband service to rural Americans. The Broadband Speed Act would require internet service providers to report annual, accurate speed data to the Federal Communications Commission. The Broadband Speed Act (HR 2398) would require internet service providers to annually report data to the FCC that shows the actual speeds they are capable of providing, as opposed to what they can potentially provide within 7-10 business days, as current law requires. This will help demonstrate to the FCC where broadband service is actually matching the speeds being advertised, and where there are still gaps in service. The bill would also require that new FCC funding awards be built out at speeds of 100 mbps or higher to ensure that they are built to last.

On March 31, President Joe Biden traveled to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, to unveil his American Jobs Plan, and what he touts as a once-in-a-generation investment to rebuild the country's infrastructure. The plan calls for investing $100 billion to ensure everyone in America has access to high-speed broadband infrastructure. In a White House fact sheet outlining the American Jobs Plan, the Biden administration recalls the national effort to bring affordable access to electricity to all through the Rural Electrification Act of 1936. In 1936, nearly 90 percent of farms lacked electric power because the costs to get electricity to rural areas were prohibitive. By 1950, due to the Rural Electrification Act, close to 80 percent of US farms had electric service. "Broadband internet is the new electricity," the fact sheet reads. "It is necessary for Americans to do their jobs, to participate equally in school learning, health care, and to stay connected." But today, millions of people live in areas where there is no broadband infrastructure that provides minimally acceptable speeds. Americans in rural areas and on tribal lands particularly lack adequate access. And, in part because the United States has some of the highest broadband prices among OECD countries, millions of Americans can’t use broadband internet even if the infrastructure exists where they live because they can't afford it. In urban areas, there is a stark digital divide: a much higher percentage of White families use home broadband internet than Black or Latino families. President Biden believes we can bring affordable, reliable, high-speed broadband to every American. The question now is: are we going to connect everyone in this decade? 

A new broadband expansion project located in the City of East Cleveland will connect residents to reliable, low-cost high-speed internet. The project will connect more than 1,000 households in its first phase, with plans to scale up access to 2,000 households. East Cleveland households will pay $15 a month for internet speeds of 50 Mbps for download and 10 Mpbs for upload (twice the minimum federal definition of high-speed internet). The first antenna tower has been activated on the roof of Mayfair Elementary School. Additional tower sites will go live over the course of the coming months to increase service to the areas of the pilot program. PCs for People will serve as the internet provider, and distribute antennas and modems for residents to have in their homes. Case Western Reserve University, Connect, East Cleveland City Schools, OARnet, and University Hospitals will assist with the technical infrastructure. The pilot program includes $650,000 in financial investments from BroadbandOhio, Cuyahoga County, Eaton Corporation, GE Lighting- a Savant company, Greater Cleveland Partnership, InnovateOhio, Microsoft, and PCs for People. Additional investments will be forthcoming.