On March 3rd, also known as Super Tuesday, voters in Massachusetts along with 14 other states will be deciding on which Democratic presidential candidate deserves the party’s nomination. Upgrade Cambridge has compiled the stances of each candidate on municipal broadband and related issues to help our supporters make an informed decision in the next two weeks. We are not endorsing any particular candidate. Instead we have provided an edited summary of how they intend to improve the broadband infrastructure of our nation as president. The following list is ordered alphabetically by last name.
- Invest $20 billion in rural broadband infrastructure, and triple funding to expand broadband access in rural areas.
- The Biden Plan will triple Community Connect broadband grants and partner with municipal utilities to bring cutting-edge broadband connections to communities across rural America.
Mike Bloomberg
- Mike Bloomberg currently has no policies related to broadband.
- $80 billion Internet For All initiative that will expand access to all currently unserved and underserved communities
- In regions private companies won’t cover, Pete will invest in public and community-based options to guarantee that broadband will be built out
- Restore net neutrality
- Connect every household to the internet by 2022
- Amy’s plan will help close the urban-rural divide by creating accurate broadband maps to identify areas that lack adequate access, focus on bringing high-speed internet infrastructure to areas most in need, and provide greater incentives for existing providers to use funds to upgrade their networks to cover unserved and underserved areas.
- Provide $150 billion through the Green New Deal in infrastructure grants and technical assistance for municipalities and/or states to build publicly owned and democratically controlled, co-operative, or open access broadband networks
- Require that all internet service providers offer a Basic Internet Plan that provides quality broadband speeds at an affordable price.
- Break up internet service provider and cable monopolies, bar service providers from providing content, and unwind anticompetitive mergers.
- Deliver access to high-speed broadband internet to everyone in the United States by building out the necessary resilient, modern infrastructure.
- Condition grants on strong labor, wage and sourcing standards to ensure that federal funding goes toward creating good-paying union jobs.
- Set aside $7.5 billion of this funding to expand high-speed broadband in Indian Country and fully resource the FCC’s Office of Native Affairs and Policy.
- Preempt the 19 state laws, largely written and lobbied for by internet service provider monopolies, that limit or bar municipal and publicly-owned broadband.
- Ensure all public housing provides free broadband services to residents.
- Aggressively enforce the Americans with Disabilities Act to ensure the accessibility of the Internet, cloud-based applications, and internet-connected devices.
- Regulate large ISPs like a utility. The FCC will review prices and regulate rates where necessary, ensuring areas without competition aren’t able to run up prices.
- Increase the FCC definition of minimum broadband speeds to 100mbps download speeds and 10mbps upload speeds.
- Use broad categorical eligibility (those who qualify for SNAP, Medicaid, TANF, and other assistance programs) to fully subsidize this monthly plan for low-income households.
- Instruct the FCC to regulate broadband internet rates so households and small businesses are connected affordably.
- Eliminate data caps and ban throttling.
- Provide $500 million per year for digital inclusiveness.
- Grants will be distributed to schools, libraries, community centers, senior centers, and other community-based programs to promote digital literacy, adoption, and inclusivity.
- Break monopolies up and closely regulate them to ensure they are providing consumers with acceptable service, and eliminate hidden fees, surprise bills, and other consumer-gouging practices.
- Work with Congress to codify net neutrality protections into law to prevent a future FCC from repealing them once again.
- Reinstate and expand privacy protection rules and work with privacy experts, racial justice activists, and other stakeholders to develop and pass a digital privacy bill of rights into law.
- Ensure any new broadband infrastructure is resilient to the effects of climate change.
- Preempt laws in 26 states hindering or banning municipalities from building their own broadband infrastructure and return this power to local governments.
- Create an Office of Broadband Access in my Department of Economic Development that will manage a new $85 billion federal grant program to massively expand broadband access across the country.
- Applicants will have to offer at least one plan with 100 Mbps/ 100 Mbps speeds and one discount internet plan for low-income customers with a prepaid feature or a low monthly rate.
- Of these funds, $5 billion will be set aside specifically for 100% federal grants to tribal nations to expand broadband access on Native American lands.
- Appoint FCC Commissioners who will restore net neutrality
- Weak FCC oversight has allowed ISPs to greatly exaggerate how many households they serve and has given ISPs added fuel to downplay their failures and protect themselves from regulation.
- Appoint FCC Commissioners who will require ISPs to report service and speeds down to the household level, as well as aggregate pricing data, and work with community stakeholders — including tribal nations — to make sure we get this process right
- Return control of utility poles and conduits to cities, prohibit landlords from making side deals with private ISPs to limit choices in their properties, and ban companies from limiting access to wires inside buildings.
- People may still not take advantage of [the internet] because they don’t know how to use it. [Warren] will work to pass the Digital Equity Act, which invests $2.5 billion over ten years to help states develop digital equity plans and launch digital inclusion projects.