JAKARTA - The White House on Monday, June 26 revealed how the government will distribute $42 billion between 50 states in the United States to expand access to the fast internet by 2030.
The federal funding of $42 billion in the Internet Equality Access and Spread Program is based on a coverage map recently released by the Federal Communications Commission that describes the gap in internet access.
Texas and California - the two states with the most population in the United States - received the most funds of US$3.1 billion and US$1.9 billion, respectively. However, other underpopulated states such as Virginia, Alabama, and Louisiana are also on the top 10 recipients of the fund due to lack of broadband access.
The move marks the start of the second tour of US President Joe Biden highlighting how laws passed by Congress during his first half of office will affect ordinary Americans, as preparations for re-nomination by 2024.
"We have a historic opportunity here to make real differences in people's lives and ensure that we explore that potential is our goal every day and ensure people feel it at their kitchen table, in their community, in their backyard," White House Chief of Staff Jeff Zients said.
Zients compared this broadband effort with President Franklin Roosevelt's efforts in 1936 to bring electricity to rural areas of America. The government estimates there are about 8.5 million locations in the United States that do not have access to broadband connections.
Broadband companies such as Verizon, Comcast, Charter Communications, and AT&T are reluctant to provide access to low-population rural communities because their investment is expensive and these areas do not offer many customers. Lack of broadband access became a concern during the closure of COVID which forced students to attend online schools.
Negara-negara bagian diharapkan mengajukan rencana awal pada akhir tahun ini yang akan membuka 20% dari dana tersebut. Setelah rencana tersebut selesai, yang mungkin membuat waktu hingga tahun 2025, pemerintah akan melepaskan sisa dana.
Biden is also scheduled to give an economic address called "Bidenomics" in Chicago on Wednesday, June 28 which will explain Biden's efforts to build an economy with a focus on the middle class not the rich. Senior advisers Anita Dunn and Mike Donilon note that the economy has added more than 13 million jobs since Biden took office, including nearly 800,000 manufacturing jobs.
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