The presidential elections in the United States are in their final stages. Ahead of Election Day on November 5, Engadget looks at where candidates Kamala Harris and Donald Trump stand on today’s most important tech issues.
Broadband access in poorer and more rural communities has been a key campaign issue since 2008. Bridging the digital divide was a key component. Barack Obama’s platform. And while not perfect, his administration has done a lot to improve the nation’s fiber-optic infrastructure, free up wireless spectrum and expand access to subsidies for low-income families. Successive administrations have promised to continue the work of bringing high-speed Internet to the most underserved communities, but the results have been disappointing. Both Kamala Harris and Donald Trump have pledged to get Americans online, but political realities will complicate that goal.
Kamala Harris
During the Biden administration, Harris acted as a kind of unofficial broadband czar (similar to his other unofficial titles of AI czar and border czar). This means that he is deeply involved in the policies of the current administration and is expected to carry them forward. It could give him a chance to salvage some sort of positive legacy for Biden, who currently has a rather spotty record on broadband.
Under President Biden, the White House provided nearly $90 billion to address the digital divide, including $42.5 billion specifically for BEAD, the Broadband Efficiency, Access and Deployment program. It gives states money to fund the planning and construction of broadband infrastructure, whether it’s rolling out new fiber to rural areas, installing Wi-Fi in low-income housing complexes, or training workers for new careers in telecommunications. Unfortunately, BEAD was hampered by numerous delays and very little of the money was actually spent. Virginia only received initial approval for $1.48 billion in funding in late July, despite first requesting it in September 2023.
Much of the blame for BEAD’s slow and sloppy rollout, however conservatives have been able to convert a weapon v. Harris. Strict requirements regarding environmental impact, labor practices and affordable access have made BEAD an easy target for Republicans who see regulation and bureaucracy as enemies of freedom and economic growth.
NTIA (National Telecommunications and Information Administration), which manages BEAD, found itself. in defenseclaims that the program is on track. Although it is unlikely that any BEAD-funded projects will break ground until 2025.
As a result Infrastructure Investments and Employment Law, BEAD It is a key part of President Biden’s (and by extension Vice President Harris’) legacy. A focus for the Harris administration will be accelerating the distribution of BEAD funds and accelerating groundbreaking on projects such as fiber optic and 5G infrastructure. But dramatic policy changes are unlikely under his leadership.
Donald Trump
Like President Biden, Donald Trump has made big promises to expand broadband access, especially for rural communities, but has largely failed to deliver. Not only that, the Democrats were able to turn this failure into a campaign A weapon against him in 2020.
Under Trump and Ajit Pai, the FCC launched the Rural Digital Opportunity Fund, which pledged $20.4 billion to expand rural broadband. However, it was just a rebrand existing subsidy program It was created during the Obama era. The Trump administration’s subsequent efforts have been more modest than those under Biden or Obama, and have included initiatives such as a $1.3 billion investment through the Agriculture Department’s Reconnect Program.
Neither Trump nor the RNC has much to say about rural broadband or the digital divide this time around. This may indicate that another term will again be defined by small-scale investments rather than large infrastructure programs. Although the Trump campaign tried to distance itself Project 2025the document was prepared by a number of people in Trump’s orbit, including former employees. So it’s not hard to assume that he might adopt some, if not most, of his policies.
This paper mainly focuses on what might be seen as one of the Trump administration’s victories on the technology front: 5G. Project 2025 calls for freeing up additional spectrum for wireless broadband and streamlining the permitting process. He urges the FCC to pursue an aggressive strategy to free up the airwaves and sell them to commercial interests. Not surprisingly, he’s calling for loosening regulations on things like environmental impact and restrictions on building on federal land, hoping to spur the construction of more cell sites. He also wants to speed up the approval process for satellite providers like StarLink, which he considers vital to America’s economic and national security interests.
Project 2025 calls for combining these efforts as part of a national broadband strategy. It cites a 2022 report from the Government Accountability Office, which states “Over 100 programs administered by 15 agencies” as evidence of mismanagement and the potential for waste.
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