President Joe Biden's $2 trillion American Jobs Plan infrastructure proposal provides $100 billion to America’s digital infrastructure, with a lofty goal of giving all Americans access to the affordable, reliable high-speed internet they need to participate in today’s economy. The fact sheet the Biden administration released doesn’t go into the details beyond saying how much money President Biden wants to invest and, generally, what he hopes the return on that investment will be: high-speed, “future-proof” broadband access covering the entire country; more competition between providers, including municipally owned plans and co-ops; and reduced costs. Sen Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) said that the Biden plan was based on the Accessible, Affordable Internet for All Act, which she and Rep. Jim Clyburn (D-SC) introduced in their respective houses in 2020 and reintroduced in March.

Anna Read, a senior research officer with the broadband access initiative at the Pew Charitable Trusts, said that the federal government should look to state and local broadband access programs, which Read believes will be the key to implementing Biden’s vision. “States have really been leading on this issue over the last few years,” Read said. “They’ve been investing significant state dollars and expanding broadband access. ... Increasingly, states are beginning to look at the affordability question as well.”“This is a significant infrastructure challenge but it is also an affordability challenge,” Read said. “Addressing the two in tandem will be very important to closing the digital divide.”

White House officials met privately with the CEOs of trade groups representing smaller internet service providers: America's Communications Association, the Competitive Carriers Association, NTCA, the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association, the Rural Wireless Association and the Wireless Internet Service Providers Association. Although some bigger ISPs balk at Biden’s proposal, these smaller trade groups have been playing a more careful game and see much they like. Stephen Bell, a spokesperson for the electric cooperative association, said his organization likes the White House’s “recognition of the strong promise that the cooperative business model holds in the effort to connect many rural communities.” And Shirley Bloomfield, who heads NTCA, recently chided larger industry incumbents like AT&T for opposing hikes in minimum broadband speeds, a priority for Hill Democrats and something President Biden seems to support in invoking “future-proof” broadband investments (many read this as a nod to supporting fiber buildout, which allows higher speeds).

In a letter to the Federal Communications Commission Acting Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel, a group of senators urged the FCC to ensure that state, local, and tribal governments are included in efforts to update nationwide broadband maps. Following decades-long use of inaccurate data maps that denied broadband funding to eligible communities, the FCC was charged by Congress with creating new maps in 2020 to accurately depict the current state of broadband access in our nation. These maps are a crucial tool in the FCC’s work to expand broadband to underserved and unserved communities across the country, and accurate mapping will help ensure that federal funds reach the areas that need it most. Incorporating feedback from state, local, and tribal governments will provide the FCC with more accurate, reliable, and up-to-date data.

The letter was signed by Senators Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Ron Wyden (D-OR), Angus King (I-ME), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), Raphael Warnock (D-GA), Joe Manchin (D-WV), Patrick Leahy (D-VT), Tom Carper (D-DE), Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Michael Bennet (D-CO), Tina Smith (D-MN), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Maggie Hassan (D-NH), Dick Durbin (D-IL), and Patty Murray (D-WA).

Former Federal Communications Commission Chairman Tom Wheeler said broadband providers pushed for reclassification of internet access as a Title I service so that authority over their service could get put in the Federal Trade Commission and "lost" among all that agency's other responsibilities, which is what he said the Trump administration ended up doing. Of late, Wheeler has argued for creating a new expert agency, separate from the FTC or FCC, to oversee digital platforms. He said the current rules were built around industrial concepts that don't apply and it is time for a "new regulatory paradigm" that provides for both more agile regulation, which tech companies have asked for, while still protecting competition and consumers. He said the best way to do that was to start with a clean slate with a new set of expectations and procedures.