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June 26 (UPI) — President Joe Biden announced the allocation of $40 billion in federal funds to be distributed to states in an effort to expand high-speed Internet to every corner of the country by 2030.
“It’s the largest-ever investment in high-speed Internet because for today’s economy to work for everyone, Internet access is just as important as electricity or water or other basic services,” Biden stated.
“What we’re doing is, as I said, not unlike what Franklin Delano Roosevelt did when he brought electricity to nearly every American home and farm in our nation,” the president added, referencing the legacy of the 32nd U.S. president.
The announcement on Monday marked the start of a three-week “Investing in America” campaign by the administration, during which officials will make numerous public appearances to promote the ongoing impact of Biden’s legislative agenda, including significant infrastructure projects across the country.
The White House stated that approximately 8.5 million homes and businesses in the United States currently lack Internet access.
Vice President Kamala Harris reiterated the importance of high-speed Internet access during a White House event in the East Room to announce the funding.
“Today, 24 million people in our country do not have access to high-speed Internet, either because they cannot afford the monthly cost of a plan or because they live in communities that have not yet been fully connected to fiber-optic networks,” Harris said. “But let us agree: In the 21st century, in America, high-speed Internet is not a luxury; it is a necessity.”
The new funding will primarily go to states with the greatest need as part of the Broadband Equity Access and Deployment Program, a key provision of Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law of 2021, which allocated $1.2 trillion for infrastructure improvements and allows each state to receive $100 million or more in government funding to enhance connectivity.
“To date, over 35,000 projects are either funded or already underway across the country thanks to the law,” Biden said. “This includes hundreds of high-speed Internet projects in rural and Tribal communities.”
“However, it’s not enough to simply have access. Affordability is also crucial,” Biden added.
“That’s why we’ve worked with Internet service providers to lower prices for Americans struggling with Internet payments. It’s called the Affordable Connectivity Program. It’s helping 19 million families save around $30 a month on their Internet bills, and some save even more.”
The $40 billion in funding will be distributed to all 50 states, prioritizing areas with no Internet service or where existing service is inadequate.
“This includes rural communities like Appalachia,” Biden said. “It includes Tribal lands from Alaska to the Dakotas, coastal towns from Hawaii to the Pacific Northwest. It also includes suburban communities, even cities, neighborhoods, and places with a large population — you would think it’s automatic, but some still have to rely on dial-up connections to get online.”
The specific dollar amounts that each qualifying state will receive, based on their specific needs, will be released by the White House.
To access the funds, states must submit blueprints to the Commerce Department by December outlining how the money will be utilized.
State and local governments will then submit their plans to the National Telecommunications and Information Administration, which will begin distributing the funds in the spring of the following year.
During this initial round of payouts, the government will only allocate 20% of the infrastructure funds, continuing with an 18-month rollout that will extend until the end of 2025.
The administration plans to allocate the funds using updated broadband coverage maps, which have seen over 1 million new coverage locations added nationwide in the past year.
Earlier this month, the government announced $930 million in new infrastructure projects aimed at “closing the digital divide for everyone in America” by expanding middle mile high-speed Internet infrastructure across 35 states and Puerto Rico.
The White House has also launched the Online For All campaign, a program that aims to help more people, including families in financially disadvantaged areas, afford Internet access. This initiative involves grassroots organizations and corporate entities collaborating with the Department of Education to assist families in paying monthly Internet service costs.
In February, Vice President Kamala Harris emphasized the importance of high-speed Internet as a “basic necessity” and announced a $175 million fund to help secure Internet access at the nation’s 61 Historically Black Colleges and Universities.
In total, the Biden administration plans to invest over $90 billion in expanding affordable Internet access, with an additional $25 billion provided through the American Rescue Plan to improve connectivity in economically challenged regions.
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