Diversity Groups: FCC Rural 5G Rollout Should Focus on Poverty, Not Density

The Multicultural Media, Telecom and Internet Council -- joined by more than two dozen national organizations -- says the Federal Communications Commission should make sure that the initial tranche of its $9 billion in rural 5G subsidy funding goes to help those furthest from digital equality, which includes impoverished African American and Hispanic communities. The groups say that the FCC should prioritize funding according to poverty, not population density. They  recommend that the FCC "adopt a rollout schedule under which economically depressed rural communities of color--the communities most in need of fast broadband--will be among prioritized first for high-cost support and buildout."