Democratic infrastructure plan includes $20 billion for broadband

Democratic senators announced a $1 trillion infrastructure proposal that includes $20 billion for broadband buildout. The proposal, A Blueprint to Rebuild America’s Infrastructure, would create more than 15 million jobs over the next ten years.

One in three Americans, or 105 million people, do not subscribe to broadband at home, and 34 million people lack access to high-speed networks that meet the FCC’s 25/3 Mbps broadband speed. What’s more, the Organization for Economic and Co-Operation Development (OECD) ranks the US 16th in the world in terms of broadband access and 12th in terms of average broadband speed. The public money from this infrastructure plan would help close the digital divide and foster digital equality.

“This funding will be available to projects currently eligible under programs at both the Department of Commerce and the US Department of Agriculture,”  the plan says. “We also propose expanding the programs to enable grant recipients to use grant funds to deploy various types of infrastructure capable of offering, middle-mile, last-mile wired and wireless broadband access, and adding evaluation criteria in the awards process to ensure that the funding goes to the most effective and efficient uses.”

Read the full plan here.

Link:

A Blueprint to Rebuild America’s Infrastructure (US Senate Democrats, Jan. 24, 2017)