President Joe Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law will help the more than 30 million Americans who still don’t have reliable internet, Deputy Secretary of Commerce Don Graves said at the NYC Equity Tour July 22.
The initiative makes a once-in-a-generation investment of $65 billion that will bring high-speed internet to every American, he said, according to a Commerce Department news release.
“We have one overarching goal at the Commerce Department: to improve America’s competitiveness in every community so that our workers and companies of all sizes can succeed in the global economy. And equity underpins every aspect of what we do,” Graves said in the release.
Opportunities will be created and increased productivity will result from the Internet for All initiative, he said, according to the release. It will improve lives, particularly of those Americans living "in communities that have too often been left behind."
Nearly $3 billion in funding for the Digital Equity Act was included to promote digital inclusion and equity for the historically unserved or underserved communities with high-speed internet access, the release said.
The Department also launched the Connecting Minority Communities Program. More than $260 million will fund Hispanic Serving Institutions, HBCUs and Tribal colleges and universities so they can buy broadband service and equipment, hire IT personnel and create digital literacy programs, Graves said in the release.
