Internet funding rule could favor rural areas over cities

Cities and urban counties across the US are raising concerns that a recent rule from President Biden’s administration could preclude them from tapping into $350 billion of coronavirus relief aid to expand high-speed internet connections. The American Rescue Plan includes broadband infrastructure among the primary uses for pandemic aid flowing to each city, county and state. But an interim rule published by the US Treasury Department has narrowed the broadband eligibility. It focuses on areas that lack reliable broadband at the Federal Communications Commission's 2015 standard of download speeds of at least 25 megabits per second and upload speeds of at least 3 Mbps. That threshold ensures funding for remote, rural areas that have slow or no internet service, but while most cities already have broadband available, those speeds still might not be fast enough to handle multiple people in a home trying to work, study and stream entertainment simultaneously. The price also can be more than lower-income residents can afford. Several cities, including Washington, Los Angeles, Milwaukee and San Antonio, have submitted public comments to the Treasury Department urging it to loosen the eligibility standard for spending pandemic relief money on broadband to a 100/100 Mbps threshold. If the Treasury goes forward with its rule as originally written, sparsely populated areas currently lacking broadband could leapfrog certain urban areas in their internet speeds.