Staff Reports
The latest buzz surrounding Kamala Harris’s “Internet For All” initiative is the kind of announcement that makes a person question whether the Biden administration is living in the same universe as everyone else. Launched amid much fanfare and promises of connectivity for all by 2030, the plan, backed by a staggering $42.5 billion, has yet to deliver even a whiff of actual progress. That’s right, as of now, not a single soul has been connected to broadband under this grand scheme. By definition, that sounds less like a rollout and more like a spectacular flop.
Back in 2021, the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act was supposed to be a game-changer. Remember the goal of constructing 500,000 EV charging stations? By mid-2023, the glorious result of that promise was a measly eight stations. So, it seems fair to ask: is Harris even remotely aware of what her “leadership” entails, or has she been too busy polishing her résumé for a treasure hunt of missed deadlines and bureaucratic red tape?
The underlying chaos within the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) reads like a federal blooper reel. The NTIA has buried states under mountains of paperwork needed just to qualify for the funds. It seems the only thing moving at lightning speed is the pile of delays. As states struggle through the bureaucratic maze, it’s hard not to wonder if “Internet for All” is just code for “let’s take a few years off.”
Under Harris’s ineffective leadership, more than half of the U.S. population remains in bureaucratic limbo, with no inbox ever being graced by a state-approved broadband plan. The dire straits of this situation suggest that many Americans might be looking for more than just a Wi-Fi signal by the time Harris’s regime makes any moves. Perhaps by the time states are free to implement their plans, most folks will have invested in tin cans and string as their new forms of communication.
Harris Was Put in Charge of the $42.5 Billion 'Internet For All' Plan. Where is it? https://t.co/eDaJbZu7aS pic.twitter.com/jScrX0eq28
— ForthRight Strategy (@ForthRightStrat) October 7, 2024
As if the tangled web of bureaucracy wasn’t enough, the only contributions being made seem to originate from the Department of Commerce’s zealous attempts to enforce progressive agendas. States must comply with radical mandates that push for subsidized rates for low-income customers, leaving local providers scrambling. More demands are piled on regarding hiring quotas for “underrepresented” groups, which can often make rural internet providers scratch their heads in confusion. Why prioritize diversity over actual connectivity when the whole point is to get people connected?
With deadlines looming, it seems the grand promise of rural connectivity might remain nothing more than a mirage—unless the paperwork gets sorted out in time, which seems as likely as finding a unicorn. At the current rate, “Internet for All” may turn into “Internet for Some” after a decade of waiting for government red tape to catch up.
