U.S. Commerce secretary Raimondo on how the U.S. will spend $65 billion on broadband

WASHINGTON: U.S. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo on Tuesday detailed plans to spend $65 billion to expand broadband access and affordability, a significant part of the Biden administration’s new infrastructure bill.

The bill’s authors say 19 million Americans lack access to high-speed internet. Raimondo said the administration’s goal is for “every single American” to have access to high-speed affordable broadband, “which means truly affordable.”

The bill includes $42.45 billion in grants for expanding physical access to broadband, including building fiber or other networks.

The bill automatically awards $100 million to each state that can be used for technical assistance, to build out a state broadband office or other efforts, for a total of $5 billion.