Broadband bipartisanship: How did it happen and will it continue?

Unlike roads, bridges, ports, water systems, and transit, broadband was the only infrastructure Congress funded in the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act that had not been subject to multiple prior bipartisan spending efforts. One can dismiss this difference on the grounds that the physical nature of broadband is similar enough to projects in prior infrastructure legislation that including it was not a great leap. Still, unlike transportation and water systems, broadband is primarily funded by private capital. So, Congress made an uncommon decision that broadband had entered a rare bucket of essential services which justify government support—and further, that private markets were not going to provide those services in some areas without significant government assistance. Will this era of good feelings in broadband policy continue? That will be tested. First, there must be a permanent solution to broadband affordability for low-income persons. Second, there must be a greater effort to consider how to use broadband to improve how industries deliver essential services, including health care, education, workforce development, and general government services.