Biden to Sign Bill With $65B for Broadband Monday

President Joe Biden plans to sign the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act Monday, as expected (see 2111080067), the White House said Wednesday. Biden plans to say at the signing ceremony that HR-3684, which includes $65 billion for broadband, will provide access to “high-speed internet for every American,” among other priorities, the White House said. Deputy Commerce Secretary Don Graves hailed the broadband money, during a Wednesday call with reporters. “Reliable high-speed internet is a necessity,” especially amid the COVID-19 pandemic, he said. “I’ve heard too many” stories “about families during the pandemic being forced to make the difficult decision of who received remote learning each day because their internet connection wasn’t strong enough to support more than one user at a time. That’s an injustice and it needs to end.” He noted NTIA will disburse about $48 billion of the broadband money, and Commerce has a “wealth of experience from carrying out” similar programs like the Broadband Technology Opportunities Program. An administration official said rules will reflect what was learned from past mistakes, speaking on condition of anonymity to reporters. BTOP had been controversial. Commerce plans to seek input from state governments, the telecom sector and other stakeholders on those rules, including how the department will define what level of service a recipient must provide via a required “low-cost” plan, the official said. Department representatives had no clear timeline for finalizing potential rules but suggested they could require the full amount of time set out in HR-3684 because of the “complexities” in the planning process.