Rural Broadband Deployment Efforts

Senate Commerce Chairman Roger Wicker (R-Mississippi) indicated in a video update his desire to dole out billions of Rural Digital Opportunity Fund dollars as well as continue work on important legislation to improve infrastructure in the United States, especially rural broadband. Additionally, Senate Homeland Security Ranking Member Gary Peters (D-Michigan) and Assistant Speaker of the House Ben Ray Luján (D-New Mexico) sent a letter to Congressional leadership calling for increased investments in rural broadband infrastructure. They requested the allocation of funding in the next coronavirus (COVID-19) relief package to ensure low-interest financing options are available to historically underserved rural communities and public-private partnerships to help deploy broadband.

Congressional leadership has responded to these and other calls for increased broadband deployment in the next COVID-19 relief package, repeatedly mentioning the area as a top priority for funding given how many Americans have recently transitioned to remote work and education.