What tech wants from Washington amid coronavirus

As the markets crash and foreshadow a potential economic downturn, some people in the tech industry are also asking what Washington can do for them — particularly as Congress weighs stimulus packages to protect future structure of the American economy. Here's what to watch when it comes to the tech industry and the coronavirus recovery effort.

Broadband investment: On the adoption side, there are obvious changes to Lifeline — a program that started out as a way to provide subsidized access to phone lines and now covers broadband access — that could help. Those would include loosening restrictions on who can apply, as well as expanding the program so households could have at minimum two services: a home broadband and a mobile line, as opposed to the current single subsidy. On the deployment side, stimulus could include improvements to rural broadband infrastructure, a potential cash infusion for the sector that would also help bring more communities online — an idea that feels particularly important when so much of the country is currently being told to stay home. Other areas of recovery include telemedicine overhauls, investment in federal digital infrastructure, and supply chain localization.