Why cable hates Biden's $100 billion broadband plan

Some key details of the broadband measures in the American Jobs Plan have internet service providers up in arms.

1. The plan prioritizes spending for government-run or nonprofit networks. Such providers have "less pressure to turn profits" and "a commitment to serving entire communities," according to a White House fact sheet. "Having communities in the driver's seat with this funding means that those communities have a stake, not only in articulating what the digital divide looks like on the ground, but what type of network will work best to meet their needs," said Kathryn de Wit, manager of the broadband access initiative at The Pew Charitable Trusts.
2. Biden's plan also prioritizes "future-proof" infrastructure — which providers fear means the government will fund new fiber networks in areas where broadband companies already have customers. "If we are going to put billions of public dollars behind this effort, we want to do it in a way that sets us up for decades to come," said a White House official .
3. The plan calls for making internet service more affordable by finding ways to bring prices down, instead of giving government subsidies to service providers so they can charge some consumers less.