Broadband Access Critical to Startups, Consumers
TLDR: Internet connectivity has become a critical resource for Americans coping with the pandemic, and the increased reliance on digital services is already highlighting gaps in Internet access and sufficient broadband infrastructure across the country. As Congress debates passing a phase four coronavirus relief package that would in part address broadband access concerns, it’s critical for policymakers to understand just how important connectivity is to U.S. startups and consumers.
What’s Happening This Week: While the Senate is back in session, lawmakers in the upper chamber are planning to take their time drafting a fifth coronavirus relief package. President Donald Trump and lawmakers from both sides of the aisle have all called for the next relief package—known as the phase four bill—to address broadband infrastructure concerns, and House Democrats released a proposal last week to invest more than $80 billion in broadband infrastructure development as part of the next relief package.
The lack of immediate progress on the phase four bill comes at a particularly difficult time for Americans, many of whom have come to rely on a variety of digital services to attend classes, remotely work, and otherwise stay connected while complying with statewide stay-at-home orders. As Access Now noted in a report on expanding connectivity to fight the coronavirus, the pandemic has “made the need for high-quality Internet access more clear and urgent.” And a new report from the Pew Research Center found that 53 percent of respondents say that Internet access has been essential during the pandemic, underscoring just how critical of a role connectivity has played in the midst of the outbreak.
The Federal Communications Commission asked Internet service providers last week to extend their promise to waive late fees and provide uninterrupted service to consumers as part of the agency’s Keep America Connected Pledge. While ensuring that U.S. consumers can still access digital services in the near term is critical, policymakers should go a step further and ensure that American consumers and businesses can maintain access to reliable and high-speed broadband services moving forward.
Why it Matters to Startups: As Americans continue to socially distance from one another and abide by stay-at-home orders, startups and other Internet firms are filling a vital role by providing consumers with a host of much-needed digital services. Whether it’s video conferencing tools, delivery app services, or online shopping platforms, startups and small businesses are depending more than ever on reliable connectivity in order to provide their services directly to users.
But the current pandemic has also highlighted our nation’s digital divide, exacerbating the separation between those that have access to reliable broadband services and those that don’t. Startups who can’t reach consumers because of connectivity limitations will struggle, and the additional burden on our nation’s infrastructure caused by the pandemic—coupled with the economic fallout from the virus—threatens the future of many of these early-stage companies.
The additional burden on our nation’s already strained broadband infrastructure means that startups and consumers will continue having trouble accessing critical digital services. M-Lab’s Sascha Meinrath noted in an op-ed for The Hill that “the increased home Internet use is killing our connection speeds across the country.” Connectivity issues are already having an outsized impact on areas of the country that lack high-speed broadband, including on startups based in rural communities with insufficient Internet access. These early-stage firms now have to contend with a difficult economic climate while also trying to conduct business using unreliable broadband services.
Current efforts—such as the FCC’s work to ensure that consumers and businesses do not have their services disrupted as a result of the economic climate—are a good first step. But unless policymakers commit to strengthening our nation’s broadband infrastructure, startups and consumers across the country will be forced to rely on unequal and subpar services.
Engine joined a letter last week with more than 200 organizations urging Congress “to support access to affordable broadband internet” in future COVID-19 relief packages. While our concerns about the nation’s broadband infrastructure are not new, the pandemic has built renewed momentum across the aisle for policymakers to address the growing digital divide. Future economic relief packages should immediately address concerns about broadband access in order to ensure that Americans, startups, and other small businesses across the country have reliable Internet access.
On the Horizon.
The Senate Armed Services Committee is holding a hearing tomorrow at 3 p.m. to discuss “the impact of the Federal Communications Commission’s Ligado decision on national security.”
Politico is holding a virtual briefing with House antitrust subcommittee Chairman David Cicilline (D-R.I.) at 9 a.m. on Thursday to discuss “what's next for Silicon Valley and Washington in the era of coronavirus.”
Protocol is hosting a virtual meetup this Thursday at noon to discuss venture capital firms and the startup community.
The Cato Institute is holding an online policy forum this Friday at 11 a.m. to discuss the merits and downsides of digital currency and digital payment services.
