The 2021 U.S.  Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), AKA the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law was signed into law November 15, 2021. It included $42.5 billion for states to expand broadband to “unserved,” mostly rural, communities.  The White House said it would “Ensure every American has access to high-speed internet…. The Bipartisan Infrastructure Deal will deliver $65 billion to help ensure that every American has access to reliable high-speed internet through a historic investment in broadband infrastructure deployment. The legislation will also help lower prices for internet service and help close the digital divide, so that more Americans can afford internet access.”

In his speech at the Democratic National Convention, President Joe Biden trumpeted his broadband program in historic terms, calling it a national build-out “not unlike what Roosevelt did with electricity.” Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris helped create and promote the program as vice president, and on the campaign trail it could offer a way to show how the White House has delivered for rural Americans.

Yet almost three years later, ground hasn’t been broken on a single project! The Biden-Harris Administration recently said construction won’t start until next year at the earliest, meaning many projects won’t be up and running until the end of the decade.  Who’s to blame?

• NTIA was expected to play a major role in the endeavor to connect every American to high-speed, affordable broadband. They intended to work closely with all stakeholders, including State and local governments, Tribal governments, industry, and community leaders, as well as across the Federal government to ensure that this bold investment is targeted to those who need it most. But they haven’t helped a bit!
• States must submit plans to the U.S. Commerce Department about how they’ll use the funds and their bidding process for providers. The Commerce Dept. has piled on mandates that are nowhere in the law and has rejected state plans that don’t advance progressive goals. Commerce hoped to spread the cash to small rural cooperatives, but the main beneficiaries will be large providers that can better manage the regulatory burden. Bigger businesses always win from bigger government.
• Commerce is all but refusing to fund anything other than fiber broadband, though satellite services like SpaceX’s Starlink and wireless carriers 5G FWA can expand coverage at lower cost. Extending 5G to rural communities costs a couple thousand dollars per connection. Building out fiber runs into the tens of thousands. Fiber networks will require more permits, which delay construction. But fiber will require more union labor to build. Commerce wants grant recipients to pay union-scale wages and not oppose union organizing.
• The Administration has also stipulated hiring preferences for “underrepresented” groups, including “aging individuals,” prisoners, racial, religious and ethnic minorities, “Indigenous and Native American persons,” “LGBTQI+ persons,” and “persons otherwise adversely affected by persistent poverty or inequality.”
• In Virginia, that leaves thousands of mostly rural residents stuck in a long-outdated version of the internet. According to the official state count, there are more than 100,000 homes and offices across Virginia with connection speeds slow enough to qualify for the $1.48 billion in funding.  “People need to see it,” said Lynlee Thorne, a political director for Democratic campaign group Rural Ground Ggame, which helps lead campaigns for Virginia state seats. “It’s got to be a lot more concrete. We’re past the point of being able to earn people’s votes based on the status quo or just hope.”
• Last week, Cox Communications last week sued Rhode Island over the state’s plan to “build taxpayer-subsidized and duplicative high-speed broadband internet in affluent areas of Rhode Island like the Breakers Mansion in Newport and affluent areas of Westerly,” where Taylor Swift owns a $17 million vacation home. Cox says there are better ways to spend taxpayer dollars. According to the Federal Communications Commission, 99.97% of U.S. households already have access to high-speed internet.

References:

https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2021/11/06/fact-sheet-the-bipartisan-infrastructure-deal/

https://www.wsj.com/opinion/kamala-harris-joe-biden-broadband-internet-rollout-cox-communications-8acba576

https://www.politico.com/news/2024/09/04/biden-broadband-program-swing-state-frustrations-00175845

https://broadbandusa.ntia.gov/news/latest-news/ntias-role-implementing-broadband-provisions-2021-infrastructure-investment-and