Biden infrastructure deal includes billions for US broadband, says White House

$65bn for broadband will provide all Americans with high-speed internet

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US President Joe Biden and a bipartisan group of senators have reached a deal regarding a new infrastructure package that will also include billions to improve the country’sbroadband connectivity.

Asreportedby The Verge, the entire infrastructure package will cost $1.2tn over the next eight years and will include close to $559bn in new spending.

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While roads, bridges, public transit and other infrastructure items will be included in the bill, so too will funding to expand broadband access throughout the country and especially inrural communitiesaccording to a newpress releasefrom the White House.

Ensuring access to high-speed internet

According to the White House’s press release, more than 30m Americans live in areas where there is no broadband infrastructure and as a result, they don’t have access tohigh-speed internet.

Thankfully, President Biden’s infrastructure deal will allocate $65bn to ensure that every American has access to both reliable and high-speed internet going forward. While $65bn is quite a lot of money, this figure does fall short of the $100bn that theUS government had pledged to spendon broadband back in April of this year.

The bill will also require internet service providers to offer a low-cost affordable plan and comparison tools to help families get the best deal when shopping for internet.

We’ll have to wait and see how the funding from President Biden’s infrastructure deal is used to provide Americans access to high-speed internet but as the FCC is currently without a chairperson afterAjit Pai stepped downearlier this year, it might prove difficult to get the ball rolling.

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ViaThe Verge

After working with the TechRadar Pro team for the last several years, Anthony is now the security and networking editor at Tom’s Guide where he covers everything from data breaches and ransomware gangs to the best way to cover your whole home or business with Wi-Fi. When not writing, you can find him tinkering with PCs and game consoles, managing cables and upgrading his smart home.

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