Close the digital divide, but don’t trap people in the slow lane

Although Republicans recoiled when President Biden unveiled his sweeping infrastructure plan in March, a bipartisan group of senators has thrown its support behind one of the less conventional ideas in the package: making a massive investment in broadband networks. But as crucial as these networks are to the 21st century economy, it’s not just the amount Congress spends that matters. It’s making sure the money is spent the right way. And there’s a split among lawmakers over whether to just help telecom companies extend broadband to the 21 million or more Americans with no access to it — largely but not exclusively in rural and remote areas — or to also upgrade areas with substandard service. It comes down to a question of priorities. Here’s one all taxpayers should embrace: Make sure that the new networks built with these dollars won’t grow quickly obsolete. 

By taking steps to invite competitors into markets, state and local governments could help hold down broadband prices while increasing investment. That’s what happened when Google rolled out its fiber-based service. More competition will also help with the third top priority, affordability. But that’s just part of the answer. Another piece is to make sure that new networks built with federal help offer discounted service to the low-income consumers in their communities. And for communities with existing networks, there needs to be a permanent subsidy program for low-income households.