Providing everyone with equal broadband access might not be possible

A housing development in Winnebago, Neb.
(Photo by Rebecca S. Gratz, The Wall Street Journal)

When it comes to getting all Americans equal broadband access, does “all” mean “everybody?” That depends on where a person lives.

“Nebraska’s Winnebago Tribe has long been stuck with sluggish internet service. The federal government plans to fix that by crisscrossing the reservation with fiber-optic cable—at an average cost of $53,000 for each household and workplace connected,” reports Ryan Tracy of The Wall Street Journal. The investment is more than the assessed value of some homes getting cable. “While most connections will cost far less, the expense to reach some remote communities has triggered concerns over the ultimate price tag for ensuring every rural home, business, school and workplace in America has the same internet that city dwellers enjoy.”

The Biden administration launched the "Internet for All" program with more than $60 billion earmarked for providing high-speed internet to rural places. But, funding is finite, and some states may have to decide how much is too much to pay for broadband access. "In Montana, laying fiber-optic cable to some remote locations could cost more than $300,000 per connection, said Misty Ann Giles, director of Montana’s Department of Administration," Tracy reports. "Building to those places would empty the state’s coffers, she said." Giles told him: “That’s when we might not reach everyone.”

States such as Kentucky are moving forward with broadband build-outs partially financed by federal dollars: "The broadband awards are the result of a 2021 agreement between lawmakers and the governor to use $300 million of federal pandemic relief funds to extend broadband service," reports Bruce Schreiner of The Associated Press. Gov. Andy Beshear said, "there are even 'bigger days to come' in the state’s broadband expansion work, pointing to a nearly $1.1 billion federal grant that the state secured this year." Beshear told AP: “We’re talking about access everywhere. It doesn’t mean universal access except where it’s difficult, or except where the terrain is tough. Our goal is high-speed internet to everyone. No exceptions.”

Nationally, at least "four active federal programs are funding fiber broadband projects, each with distinct rules," Tracy reports. "The Wall Street Journal reviewed these programs and found not only high-cost projects but also wide differences in how much taxpayers are paying for each new connection. . . . Some of the differences can be explained by the distinct geographic areas the programs are targeting. While the Federal Communications Commission program included some suburbs and excluded remote locations such as Alaska, the Commerce and Department of Agriculture programs targeted far-flung regions with difficult construction conditions. . . . Andy Berke, the USDA’s Rural Utilities Service administrator, "Cited one project in Alaska that involves a 793-mile undersea fiber cable to reach remote villages." Berke told him: "These are some of the most challenging locations that there are to reach in America."