Commerce Secretary Raimondo highlights broadband initiatives in the infrastructure bill

Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo discussed the Commerce Department's role in implementing the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act's broadband initiatives. Of the $65 billion for broadband in the infrastructure package, $42.5 billion goes to the Commerce Department's National Telecommunications and Information Administration to create the Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment Program. "I will confess this is going to be a massive undertaking for the Department of Commerce, but we’re up for it, said Raimondo. She stated there will be a "tremendous amount of federal oversight and transparency" pertaining to states' proposed broadband plans, and that there will be "very strict criteria" to ensure equitable affordability and accessibility. "We have to make sure that we don’t spend this money overbuilding, said Raimondo. "Which means we’ll have to work very closely with the FCC and using their maps to make sure that we focus the money where broadband doesn’t exist now." When asked about the program timeline, Raimondo said the first expansion projects would get underway "well into next year" once the bill is signed into law and the Commerce Department gets set up to distribute the funds. The measure of success for the program, according to Raimondo, is that "every single American has access to high-speed, affordable broadband."