At the behest of progressives, the Biden-Harris administration's broadband expansion has stalled, and 1,024 days after lawmakers passed the so-called infrastructure bill, not a single American is connected.
The $1.2 trillion Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act includes a $42.5 billion fund to dramatically expand internet access across the U.S. Otherwise known as the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) program, this program has yet to connect a single person, even though the bill was passed 1,024 days ago.
President Joe Biden, in his 2021 State of the Union address, tasked Vice President Kamala Harris with leading the effort because “we know it's going to get done.”
During his speech at the Democratic National Convention in August, Biden said In comparison Broadband Program “What [Franklin Delano] Roosevelt did it with electricity.”
While Biden, Harris and battleground Senate Democrats have touted the program's success, some activists on the left believe it has been overlooked as a campaign issue ahead of the 2024 election.
“People need to see it. It needs to be more concrete. We're past the point where you can win people's votes by maintaining the status quo or just hope,” said Lynley Thorne, political director at Rural Groundgame, a pro-democracy campaign group.
- Onerous work requirements that “actively” discriminate against workers could “deny communities, particularly rural ones, access to reliable broadband service.”
- Encourage government-owned networks over private investment
- Prohibits non-fiber optic projects from receiving BEAD funds and prioritizes fiber optic cable deployment over wireless internet deployment
- Affordability and rate regulation obligations: confusion about how to do it follow This rule significantly delayed the rollout of BEAD broadband in Virginia.
- Eligible projects would be required to consider “climate-related” risks, but this is not included in the infrastructure bill's text.
- The Biden-Harris Administration has been inconsistent in its waiver process to quickly roll out the purchase of broadband products and supplies from American workers and businesses.
Onerous conditions attached to the broadband fund have led more than 30 telecommunications executives to file a complaint with Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo, alleging that burdensome affordability requirements are hindering the BEAD program.
“While we and our members sincerely hope that this program will succeed, we believe your Administration, particularly regarding the low-cost service option requirement, risks jeopardizing the overall success of BEAD,” the telecommunications executives said. Written He will be a cabinet member in the Biden-Harris administration.
“Is it my job to dictate rates to companies? I don't think so,” said Misty Ann Giles, who heads the Montana Department of Administration and the state's broadband program. She added that the Biden-Harris administration is “promoting social policy.”
The stringent requirements could give a future Trump administration the authority to rewrite the rules on BEAD deployment to make broadband deployment easier.
“Maybe we don't even need to be asking these questions about rate regulation,” said Rep. Bob Latta (R-Ohio), chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee's telecommunications subcommittee.
Thorne lamented that a number of orders from the Biden-Harris administration are stymieing potential progress in expanding broadband access.
“We've put up incredible barriers to actually getting it to people,” Thorne said.
“There's not a shovel in the ground. That's what people need to see,” she said.
Sean Moran is a policy reporter for Breitbart News. Follow him on Twitter. Sean Moran 3.
