Senate Commerce Broadband Hearing Hits on Speed, Mapping, Access

Expanding affordable broadband access is a rare issue with bipartisan support on the Hill. During the Senate Commerce Committee hearing on Federal efforts to expand broadband access, senators from both parties joined together to express concerns over expanding access, ensuring accurate broadband connectivity maps, and figuring out how best to spend federal broadband funding. Committee Chairwoman Maria Cantwell (D-WA) even remarked that she believed all 100 senators share concerns over rapidly expanding broadband access. The hearing addressed existing Federal programs focused on broadband access, many of which were created as a result of the pandemic, including the Keep Americans Connected Pledge, Emergency Broadband Benefit Program, ReConnect Program, and billions in funding in the American Rescue Plan. While lawmakers praised those programs, they all agreed more needs to be done to ensure adequate access. The committee heard from Dr. Christopher Ali, associate professor in the Department of Media Studies at the University of Virginia; Justin Forde, senior director of government relations at Midco; Michael O’Rielly, former commissioner of the Federal Communications Commission; and Jon Wilkins, partner at Quadra Partners. Much of the hearing focused on what the FCC has defined as broadband speed – 25 Mbps in download speeds and 3 Mbps in upload speeds.