Biden Administration Announces Plan to Connect All US Homes and Small Businesses to High-Speed Internet by 2030
On Monday, President Joe Biden announced plans to distribute billions of dollars allocated by Congress to connect every household and small business in the United States to high-speed internet. The move aims to bring internet access to underserved Americans, particularly in rural communities where it is often out of reach.
White House Chief of Staff Jeff Zients likened the initiative to the 1936 Rural Electrification Act, when the federal government installed electrical utility lines to light up rural America. He stated that high-speed internet access is now a necessity for daily life, just like electricity, and highlighted the difficulties faced by millions of Americans in rural communities without access to high-speed internet.
The $42.5 billion program will distribute funds to states, territories, and Washington, DC, based on the number of unserved locations. The amount each jurisdiction will receive primarily depends on the number of locations lacking access to internet speeds of at least 25 megabits per second for downloads and 3 megabits per second for uploads.
Congress passed the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment Program, or BEAD, through the infrastructure bill signed by the Democratic president in 2021. BEAD, along with several other internet expansion initiatives, aims to expand broadband access in the US. The Federal Communications Commission recently completed maps for the giant task force indicating that more than 7% of the country falls under the category of underserved.
The initiative is expected to bridge the digital divide and provide equal access to high-speed internet for all Americans by 2030.