Expanding access to reliable, high-speed internet has long been a priority for rural communities, but the coronavirus pandemic made the task even more urgent. Children and families without internet access have found themselves severely disadvantaged as schools are implementing mandatory online classes and doctors are shifting more of their services online. People in rural communities without broadband access cannot afford to wait for service.
To solve this problem, Congress should focus on legislation that increases small-business involvement, efficient use of licensed spectrum, technological neutrality, and speed to deployment in rural areas where there is no service.
Current federal programs, such as the Federal Communications Commission’s Rural Development Opportunity Fund or the Department of Agriculture’s ReConnect program, are great resources that are expanding broadband infrastructure in rural areas, but smaller internet service providers have a tough time competing for funds with the larger providers. It is imperative that smaller providers are able to access these funds because they are often the most familiar with the problem. They have a larger stake in these rural communities where it can be unprofitable for larger companies to invest in expensive infrastructure just to expand internet access to a few homes. To address this, I am introducing the Rural Opportunities for Broadband in Unserved Settlements and Towns Act.
The ROBUST Act helps small businesses by altering the evaluation criteria for grant and loan approval under the USDA’s ReConnect program. Under my plan, potential awardees are given preference for being able to provide speeds of 25 megabits per second for uploading and 3 megabits per second for downloading, which is the FCC’s current benchmark for high-speed internet.
Larger businesses are no longer favored for being able to provide unnecessarily high-speed internet in areas in which there are many people with no internet at all and no desire or need for that kind of speed. The ROBUST Act also requires the USDA to have a licensed engineer or otherwise qualified person available to provide guidance to any new applicant for assistance, as well as to use a portion of the program funds to cover the costs of required preliminary engineering reports, which have been a deterrent for smaller applicants in the past. My plan removes additional barriers for smaller providers at the FCC by ordering a reevaluation of current spectrum licenses and encouraging spectrum leasing of underutilized spectrum.
The ROBUST Act also requires the FCC to conduct an evaluation of all covered spectrum licenses in rural areas to determine where there is underutilized spectrum and then make recommendations to license holders to lease out their unutilized or underutilized spectrum so that it can be used more effectively to bring internet to those without access. At the same time, the act requires that the FCC adjust its license sizes in rural areas so that new licenses are issued at smaller sizes. Encouraging spectrum leasing will go a long way in allowing smaller providers who have had a harder time gaining a footing to compete with the larger providers who have the resources to leverage current regulations and programs. In turn, this will increase the quality of internet offered in rural communities and get more households connected at a faster rate.
While we have made great strides in bridging the digital divide, there is still much to do. People in rural communities who have been left behind during the pandemic require a different policy approach than the approach taken by many of the current federal programs. Many programs make it difficult for small business and local providers because of superfluous internet speed and general eligibility requirements that the little guys can’t meet. Communities need internet quickly, and the ROBUST Act will deliver because it ensures quick deployment, technological neutrality, efficient spectrum licensing, and increased small-business involvement where it is needed most.
Madison Cawthorn represents North Carolina’s 11th Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives.
