Pew Charitable Trusts

A sweeping $1.2 trillion infrastructure bill passed by the Senate on Aug. 10 would invest $65 billion in fast and reliable broadband infrastructure, affordability, and adoption. The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act also would provide hundreds of billions of dollars for roads, high-speed rail, and other projects. The Senate measure, awaiting action by the House, represents a historic moment in national broadband policy; the size and scope of the proposed investment acknowledge the challenges at hand and how critical high-speed internet access is to ensure America’s economic future.

States differ in how they manage broadband deployment and which agencies or offices they task with identifying challenges, charting goals, and encouraging investment. Some states have a centralized office responsible for managing or coordinating broadband efforts. In others, multiple agencies have jurisdiction over broadband. More than half of states have established dedicated funds to support deployment of high-speed internet, and many have developed goals, plans, and maps for expansion of access.

States throughout the country have created programs to expand broadband connectivity for their residents.

On May 10, the Treasury Department released the interim final rule for the American Rescue Plan Act's (ARPA) Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds, clarifying how state and local governments can use the funds for broadband deployment. The interim designation allows Treasury to get the rule in place quickly while seeking final comments. Much of the news coverage about ARPA has focused on the amount of spending, but the language in the rule denotes a shift in the federal stance on broadband expansion.

In 2020, states committed to significant funding to expand access to broadband services, even amid an economic recession. The COVID-19 pandemic—and the necessity to move routine activities such as schooling and doctors’ visits online to maintain social distancing—sharpened the focus of governors and lawmakers in 2020 on the need to close the digital divide. States continued to establish programs to oversee broadband development and expand the types of entities that could engage in broadband deployment projects.

A Q&A with Adrianne Furniss, executive director of the Benton Institute, and Matt Schmit, deputy director of the Illinois Department of Commerce & Economic Opportunity

A Q&A with Bernadine Joselyn, director of public policy and engagement for the Blandin Foundation and member of the Minnesota Governor's Broadband Task Force. 

An interview about West Virginia’s bipartisan approach to closing the digital divide, with state Senator Robert “Bob” Plymale (D) and state Delegate and Assistant Majority Whip Daniel Linville (R). Broadband expansion is unusual in these politically polarized times: a public policy issue that enjoys bipartisan support.