Closing the rural gap in high-speed internet could cost $60 billion to $150 billion, broadband execs tell House members

"President Biden proposed $100 billion in his infrastructure plan to make high-speed internet available throughout America, but industry officials said at a congressional hearing on Tuesday that it could cost up to $150 billion to fill the gaps in coverage in rural America," Chuck Abbott reports for the Food & Environment Reporting Network. "The price tag could vary, depending on the equipment that is used – fiber optic vs. wireless, for example – and the speed of connectivity." 

Four broadband executives testified before the House Agriculture Committee. The $150 billion quote came from Johnny Park, CEO of the Indiana-based Wabash Heartland Innovation Network. Vickie Robertson, general manager of Microsoft's Airband initiative, said it might cost $60 billion to $80 billion, but acknowledged that the size of the broadband gap is unknown because of faulty data maps.

Tim Johnson, chief executive of Otsego Electric Cooperative in New York, said the co-op strongly believes it should provide broadband capable of downloading and uploading 100 megabits per second, Abbott reports. The Federal Communications Commission's minimum standard for broadband is 25 Mbps download and 3 Mbps upload. Jennifer Prather, general manager of Totelcom Communications in DeLeon, Texas, between Fort Worth and San Angelo, agreed that they didn't want to build to the FCC minimum. Prather and Johnson said customers had inundated them during the pandemic with requests for more capacity because so many were working and learning from home.

"The four broadband executives agreed optical fiber was the gold standard for reliable, high-speed service while advising against one-size-fits-all standards," Abbott reports. "Park’s company is experimenting with the use of a tethered 80-foot-long balloon, known as an aerostat, as a link between scattered households and broadband providers. Other companies use a mix of fiber optic and fixed wireless."

House Agriculture Chair David Scott, D-Ga., said he might draft a rural broadband bill that could advance on its own or be added to infrastructure legislation, Abbott reports.