Sens. Collins, Jones Bow American Broadband Buildout Act

Sens. Susan Collins, R-Maine, and Doug Jones, D-Ala., introduced the American Broadband Buildout Act (S-2018) Thursday in a bid to direct the FCC to provide up to $5 billion in matching grants to help states improve their broadband infrastructure. The bill requires the grants to be matched with funding from public-private partnerships between the ISP and the state in which the infrastructure project will be built. Qualifying projects would need to be in unserved areas and be designed to be "future proof" so they're able to accommodate higher broadband speeds in coming years. The bill would require the FCC to prioritize the funding of projects in states that have traditionally lagged behind the national average in percentage of broadband subscribers. It requires the commission to "determine whether the area is served or unserved using accurate and granular information regarding the availability of broadband internet access service at the sub-census block level." The FCC's broadband data collection practices have been criticized by lawmakers (see 1905150061). NCTA lauded the bill as "specifically targeted at extending high-speed broadband networks to those communities that are not yet connected. In particular, we appreciate the legislation’s emphasis on directing funds to areas that need them the most, as well as a requirement for the FCC to immediately improve its fixed broadband maps at a sub-census block level."