Biden Administration Initiates a $42 Billion Infusion in High-Velocity Internet

Biden Administration Launches $42 Billion Investment in High-Speed Internet. President Joe Biden disclosed over $42 billion in financing for an initiative aimed at interlinking each person and petite enterprise nationwide with steadfast, rapid internet access before 2030.

Key TakeAway

• Commander-in-chief Biden on Monday revealed a $42.45 billion endeavor to furnish over 8.5 million households with expeditious internet connectivity.
• Financing is rendered through the Broadband Equity Access and Deployment (BEAD) Program, a subsidy initiative established under the 2021 Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act.
• The grants allotted vary from $27 million to $3.3 billion.

Over 8.5 million households are slated to attain swift internet connectivity as per the scheme disclosed by Biden on Monday. In every nook and cranny of the 50 states, U.S. territories, and D.C., individuals and enterprises grapple with the absence of high-speed internet access, and the Biden administration is diligently laboring to bridge this divide.

This endeavor constitutes a fragment of the $1.2 trillion Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, popularly known as the Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill, which was officially enacted into law on November 15, 2021.

Under the provisions of this bill, a sum of $42.45 billion was earmarked for the recently established Broadband Equity Access and Deployment (BEAD) Program. This grant initiative, overseen by the Commerce Department, is designated to apportion funding to states for the enhancement of internet and broadband infrastructure.

The range of grants disbursed spans from $27 million to $3.3 billion. The ten leading beneficiaries of this allocation include Alabama, California, Georgia, Louisiana, Michigan, Missouri, North Carolina, Texas, Virginia, and Washington. Among these, Texas is slated to obtain the highest grant of $3.3 billion, surpassing all other states.

Southern States Received the Most Broadband Grant Money

Every state was apportioned financial resources as a facet of an extensive endeavor aimed at amplifying high-velocity internet connectivity to the entire populace of the United States. The Southern states garnered the most substantial grant amounts, yet every state across the nation received some form of funding. (To view precise data points, kindly interact with the map by tapping or hovering over the respective region.)

Guam, Northern Marianas and Virgin Islands also received funds as a part of this program but are not pictured.

Approximately 8.5 million households in the United States, equivalent to around 7% of the total, do not possess a reliable internet connection. The federal government defines reliable access as having a download speed of 25 megabits per second and an upload speed of 3 megabits per second.

Officials from the White House drew parallels between this undertaking and the endeavors of Franklin Delano Roosevelt during the 1930s. Roosevelt, through his New Deal legislation during the Great Depression, implemented initiatives to bring electricity to rural areas of America.

"In a similar vein to Franklin Delano Roosevelt, who extended electricity to nearly every American home and farm, we are embarking on an equally momentous investment," remarked President Biden during a press conference addressing the initiative, accompanied by Vice President Kamala Harris.