Statements on Introduced Bills and Joint Resolution

Floor Speech

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Ms. COLLINS. Mr. President, I rise today to introduce the American Broadband Buildout Act. This legislation would help ensure that rural Americans have access to broadband services at the speeds they need to participate fully in the benefits of our modern society and economy. I want to thank my colleague Senator Rosen for joining me in introducing this bill today.

Twenty-five years ago, Americans typically accessed the internet using their home phone lines via modems, capable of downloading data at just 56 kilobits per second, too slow even to support MP3-quality streaming music. Today, the Federal Communications Commission defines broadband service as having a threshold download speed nearly 500 times faster.

Many areas of our country, particularly our rural communities, simply do not have the infrastructure to achieve these speeds and fully tap into the opportunities that digital connectivity can deliver. According to a 2019 Pew Research Center survey, nearly 37 percent of rural Americans lack a broadband connection compared to 25 percent of urban Americans.

Similar disparities occur in terms of broadband adoption. That is the rate at which Americans subscribe to broadband service once they have access to it.

The survey also found that 15 percent of rural Americans don't use the internet at home compared to just 9 percent of urban Americans.

The current pandemic has brought these connectivity challenges into stark focus as many families have had to move their education, their workplaces, and their healthcare services online.

Andrea Powers, the town manager of Fort Fairfield in northern Maine, recently described a number of challenges in her community: students who have to sit on the town's library steps in order to finish research projects and submit their papers; a business owner who was forced to relocate his company to another community in order to have a chance to succeed; a senior citizen who requires the care of distant doctors but does not have the capacity to travel nor access the telehealth options.

Andrea told me the story of one family whose jobs rely heavily on access to high-speed broadband. They were told that it would cost them $15,000 to bring that connection to their doorstep. Andrea summed up the reality facing so many rural communities that lack access in this way. She said: ``We will continue to see a loss of business retention and expansion along with job creation. We simply cannot afford to allow this to happen. Online schooling, business growth and development, telehealth care, and economic agriculture success are all dependent on . . . affordable fiber optic broadband.''

Telehealth services are an essential piece of the national broadband conversation. Often, rural communities struggle to attract and retain healthcare providers that they need to ensure access to quality care. Broadband is vital to bridging that gap to enable innovative healthcare delivery.

Let me give you an example. Hospice workers at Northern Light Homecare were able to use the internet and video technology to help support a patient living on an island off the coast of Maine--not far as the seagull flies, but hours away in travel time. Although the connection was poor, the video enabled nurses to monitor the patient's condition and symptoms and, equally important, to provide emotional support to her and to her family. As one hospice worker put it, ``our hospice team could be doing so much more with video and telemonitoring technologies if only Maine had better connectivity.''

The American Broadband Buildout Act would help close this ``digital divide'' between urban and rural America by providing up to $15 billion in matching grants to assist States and State- approved entities in building that ``last-mile'' infrastructure to bring high-speed broadband directly to homes and businesses in areas that lack it.

Projects would have to be located in unserved areas--that is, areas where broadband is unavailable at speeds that meet the FCC standards. Focusing on those areas will direct support where it is most needed and will protect against overbuilding where infrastructure is already in place.

The Federal funding authorized in our bill would be matched through public-private partnerships between the broadband service provider and the State where they provide service. This means that States and their private sector partners will have ``skin in the game'' so that the projects will be well thought out and sustainable. This model will also incentivize existing service providers to extend their networks to rural areas and swiftly connect new households.

Third, the bill would require that projects be designed to be ``future proof,'' meaning that the infrastructure installed must be capable of delivering higher speeds as broadband accelerates in the future. We want these investments to serve rural Americans now and in the future without having to rebuild every time technology advances.

Our bill would also prioritize projects in States that have traditionally lagged behind the national average in terms of broadband subscribers and those that are at risk of falling further behind as broadband speeds increase.

Finally, the bill would provide grants for digital literacy and public awareness campaigns to encourage wider broadband adoption once access is available. Increasing broadband adoption will help drive down the cost of the service and make it more affordable for everyone.

Rural Americans need access to high-speed internet just as urban Americans do. In fact, one could argue they need it even more, especially during these times that can require remote work, education, and healthcare. The bill that Senator Rosen and I are introducing today would help bridge this digital divide by funding ``future proof'' broadband where it is needed most and give a boost to job creation in rural America.

As the Presiding Officer well knows, businesses will not locate in areas that do not have this essential service, in many cases. I urge all of our colleagues to join in supporting this bill.

Thank you

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