President Joe Biden will today announce the details of how $42 billion in funding to bolster broadband internet access will be allocated. The investment, which was funded by the 2021 Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, aims to give all Americans access to by 2030.
Last year, the White House that would allocate at least $100 million to participating states through the . The remainder of the funding was until the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) drew up a more detailed coverage map showing which homes and businesses . The funding will be allocated based on the map.
The released of the overhauled map, which incorporates more granular data, in November. Still, politicians on both sides of the aisle were concerned it left out millions of businesses and homes and urged the White House to delay the broadband funding efforts until issues were resolved.
After taking feedback from the public and states, the FCC . According to the updated map addressed around 4 million mistakes, resulting in approximately half a million more homes, businesses and other locations without any internet access being identified. In all, the FCC determined that more than 8.3 million homes and businesses lack access to high-speed internet.
States will first focus on bringing broadband to locations that have no access at all. If they have any funding left over, they can use it to improve internet access for those with slow speeds.
It could take up to two years for the government to dole out all the funding. States will submit their initial plans later this year and that will open up a fifth of the funding, according to . The rest of the $42 billion will be unlocked after states finalize plans for investing the funds.
Many of the locations that lack broadband access are in rural areas. By and large, major providers have shied away from rolling out broadband in these locales due to their smaller populations and the high cost of installing infrastructure.
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