When it comes to expanding broadband access, states have a lot on their plate right now. In the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021, American Rescue Plan Act, and Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), Congress appropriated tens of billions of dollars for universal broadband access and affordability, giving states the lion’s share of responsibility in deciding where and how to spend the funds. Now, states must establish new mechanisms for undertaking the many tasks necessary to do so.

However, there is an additional, urgent item states should add to their to-do list: enable low-income residents to afford broadband by advocating for a sustainable framework for the Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) Affordable Connectivity Program. If the FCC fails to create such a framework in the coming months, states may be forced to come up with their own funding—which would likely be a fiscal, political, and administrative nightmare.

By way of background, in the IIJA, Congress found that “[a]ccess to affordable, reliable, high-speed broadband is essential to full participation in modern life,” and that the digital divide “is a barrier to…the equitable distribution of essential public services, including health care and education.” That understanding underlies Congress’ multibillion dollar appropriation for broadband deployment and adoption.

But Congress was not the only government institution last year to make a dramatic policy adjustment regarding broadband. In May 2021, a New Mexico state judge issued a ruling holding that the state had violated the New Mexico constitutional provision requiring a “uniform system of free public schools sufficient for the education of, and open to, all.” In its ruling, the court found that students without in-home internet access were not obtaining “the constitutionally required education to which they are entitled.” The Court ordered the state to provide those students access to devices, high-speed internet, and information technology staff support.

Read the full article about increasing broadband affordability by Blair Levin at Brookings.