Democrats unveil plan to achieve universal broadband access

Democratic lawmakers in the US House and Senate announced a new plan to achieve universal access to high-speed Internet. The plan, “A Better Deal: Universal High-Speed Internet,” would provide $40 billion in new federal funding for broadband infrastructure. With similarities to FDR’s Rural Electrification Act, the funding would be used to close the digital divide in unserved areas. The plan also includes upgrading existing infrastructure and Internet speeds, creating accurate broadband access maps, and upgrading the nation’s public safety infrastructure, including 9-1-1 systems.

“In the 1930s, President Franklin D. Roosevelt understood that every American needed reliable and affordable electricity to succeed in the new economy,” the white-paper reads. “The electricity of 2017 is high-speed internet. Our pledge in A Better Deal is to connect every American to high-speed, reliable internet by providing direct federal investments to deliver the highest quality internet access at the lowest price.”

Read the full white-paper here.

Links:

Democrats are pushing a $40 billion plan to bring the best Internet access to rural America (Washington Post, Sept. 28, 2017)

A Better Deal: Universal High-Speed Internet (Senate & House Democrats, Sept. 28, 2017)