Last week, the U.S. Treasury Department released a final rule for broadband infrastructure funding through the Coronavirus State and Local Recovery Funds. Previously, federal funds were blocked from being used on broadband deployment if the area in question already had an available service network with speeds of at least 25Mbps/3Mbps. Under this final rule, federal funds will now be allowed to be used anywhere regardless of current available speeds, therefore reaching a population of US broadband customers referred to as “underserved.” The announcement of this final rule raised objections from a group of 11 Republican Senators, who sent a letter to Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen urging the department to return to the original rule. The group expressed concern that, “taxpayer money will be wasted in areas where broadband infrastructure already exists and those without access to quality broadband service will not receive the full measure of needed assistance.”
