WISPA exec called the infrastructure plan ‘right on target’
On Wednesday, President Joe Biden introduced a monumental $2.3 trillion infrastructure and jobs package that aims to reshape the American economy. The infrastructure plan is far reaching, and includes, among many other things, $174 billion for electric vehicles, $50 billion for semiconductor manufacturing and research and $100 billion to build high-speed broadband networks throughout the country.
When it comes to the buildout of broadband networks, President Biden wants to lower the cost of connectivity and to make that connectivity universal for all Americans.
“We’ll make sure every single American has access to high quality affordable high-speed internet,” he said in Wednesday’s speech. “We’re going to drive down the price for families who have service now and make it easier for families who don’t have affordable service to be able to get it now.”
Expanding and improving broadband coverage, particularly in rural areas, has bipartisan support, and according to Christina Mason, VP of Government Affairs for Wireless Internet Service Providers (WISPA), “the President’s focus is right on target.”
“Broadband plays a major role in making our lives progressively better,” Mason wrote in a statement. “All Americans should have access to high-speed internet no matter where they live or what they can afford.”
According to Mason, in order to achieve Biden’s ambitious broadband plan, there needs to be more spectrum allocation for small innovators, tech-neutral subsidy programs, nondiscriminatory access to physical infrastructure for small broadband providers and more support to boost digital adoption and inclusion.
“This path to gigabit plan will help build evolutionary broadband networks that are competitive, ubiquitous and adopted by all. In doing so, it will go the distance toward realizing the President’s call to build jobs and get all Americans online,” she said.
Mason also commended the Biden administration’s push to create new jobs, which he said he will do in critical sectors such as clean energy and manufacturing.
While support for the infrastructure plan appears strong, there remains contention around how to pay for it. Biden has pushed raising the corporate tax rate to 28%, which is what it was before Donald Trump’s tax cuts in 2017, as well as increasing the minimum tax on U.S. multinational corporations to 21%. These, and some additional policies, are part of his larger tax plan called the Made in America Tax Plan.
However, some, including Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky. are skeptical of the plan to use corporate tax increases to fund the infrastructure plan. He told reporters on Wednesday that if it involves “massive tax increases and trillions more added to the national debt,” he will “likely” not support it.
