President Joe Biden’s 2021 Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL) earmarked tens of billions of taxpayer dollars for expanding broadband internet, yet, more than three years later, not a single project is underway.
The $1.2 trillion law earmarked over $42 billion to provide internet access in unserved, mostly rural areas, with Biden once describing the initiative as “not unlike what Roosevelt did with electricity.” However, not a single project funded by the initiative has broken ground, with federal subsidies not expected to reach projects until 2025, largely due to a slew of regulatory hurdles, such as requirements for internet providers to participate in green initiatives and employ unionized workforces