The United States spends more than 42 billion USD to disseminate the Internet

The White House on June 26 said it has allocated 42.45 billion USD to 50 states in the US with the goal of universalizing high-speed Internet by 2030.

The funding is based on the Broadband Equal Access and Deployment Program, part of the $1 trillion Infrastructure Investment Act signed by US President Joe Biden in 2021. The spending will not be evenly distributed, but will be based on a recently released Internet coverage map by the US Federal Communications Commission (FCC).

President Biden speaks about the broadband Internet sponsorship program at the White House on June 26. Photo: Reuters

Of these, Texas and California - the two most populous US states - topped the list of recipients with $3.1 billion and $1.9 billion, respectively. However, less populous states such as Virginia, Alabama and Louisiana also feature in the top 10 due to a lack of broadband infrastructure - areas with rural areas taking up most of the area, making access to high-speed Internet. difficulty. At a minimum, each state receives $107 million.

"This is the largest investment in high-speed Internet ever," Biden told reporters at the White House on June 26. "To be able to serve all and develop the economy, today's Internet access is as important as electricity, water and other basic services."

The US government estimates that 8.5 million points in this country have limited broadband Internet connections, especially in rural and remote areas. Telecommunications companies such as Verizon, Comcast or Charter Communications are said to be reluctant to provide Internet to these areas only due to low populations, high investment costs and many other reasons.

One of the barriers to high-speed Internet in the US is related to electricity poles . The US government has set an ambition to bring high-speed Internet to remote areas with fiber optic cables, helping households, farms, and schools to stay connected. Fiber optic cables in the country's countryside mainly rely on power poles instead of underground cables, because they are easier to deploy. Meanwhile, power poles are not designed to contain additional telecommunications cables, making things difficult, causing conflicts between power companies and Internet providers.

The states are expected to submit plans to build broadband Internet infrastructure by the end of the year and receive about 20% of the funding. Once the plan is finalized, which could last until 2025, the government will disburse the remaining amount.