Biden unveils $42 billion internet access plan

STORY: Biden: “Today, Kamala and I are making an equally historic investment to connect everyone in America, everyone in America to high-speed Internet, affordable high-speed internet by 2030.”

U.S. President Joe Biden on Monday unveiled plans to spread some $42 billion across the nation’s 50 states and territories to create universal access to high-speed broadband internet in the next 7 years.

Biden: “It’s the biggest investment in high-speed internet ever. Because for today’s economy to work for everyone, internet access is just as important as electricity, or water, or other basic services.”

Funding for the ambitious plan is authorized under a $1 trillion infrastructure law Biden signed in 2021.

And the announcement is timed to kick off a tour highlighting the positive effects of Biden’s agenda so far, as his 2024 re-election bid gears up.

Biden: “Connecting everyone in America to affordable, reliable, high speed Internet is a bold goal. But we’re a great nation, especially one as vast and geographically diverse as ours… It’s even bolder.”

The 2024 election will in part be seen as a referendum on Biden’s handing of the economy, and he is expected to tout legislative accomplishments on infrastructure, semiconductors, and green energy investments.

Biden has seen record job creation and low unemployment, but elevated inflation and the knock-on effect of higher interest rates have stoked fears of a recession.

The broadband plan’s biggest beneficiaries in dollars will be Texas and California, receiving $3.1 billion and $1.9 billion, respectively.

The spending will be based on a newly released Federal Communications Commission coverage map that details gaps in access.

The administration estimates there are some 8.5 million locations in the U.S. that lack access to broadband connections.