Millions of Americans who waited for decades for rapid internet connections will continue to wait for the Trump administration to have launched a high speed internet program of $ 42 billion.
The Commerce Department, which manages the massive capital, access and high -speed deployment program, Announced new rules In early June, require states – some of which were ready to start construction later this year – to request new offers from Internet service providers.
The delay leaves millions of rural Americans blocked in places where health care is difficult to access and the telehantic is out of reach.
“This makes monumental damage to rural America,” said Christopher AliTelecommunications teacher at Penn State.
The Biden era program, known as Bead, was greeted when created in 2021 as a national plan to bring rapid internet to all, including millions in distant rural areas.
A year Kff Health News The survey, with the partner of the Gray Media partner, revealed that nearly 3 million people lived in most rural counties who lack primary care providers as well as primary care and health care. In these same places, depending on the analysis, people live more sick and die earlier on average.
The program adopts a neutral approach for technology to “guarantee that American taxpayers obtain the greatest return on their broadband investment”, according to June policy notice. The program previously prioritized the use of fiber optic cable lines, but wide-band experts like Ali have declared that the new orientation would facilitate suppliers of satellite-internet such as Starlink by Elon Musk and Kuiper from Amazon To win federal funds.
“We are going to connect rural America to technologies that cannot meet the needs of the next generation of digital users,” said Ali. “They will miss.”
The Republicans criticized the pearl for having taken too long and the secretary of commerce Howard Lutnick juror in March To get rid of his “awakened mandates”. The “advantage of the reworked Bargain Bead program”, which was published with an information sheet entitled “Put an end to the large -band loads of Biden“Includes the elimination of certain labor and employment requirements and the obligations to carry out climatic analyzes on projects.
The obligation for states to do a new tender cycle with internet service providers does not know if states will be able to connect the Internet High speed to all houses, said Drew GarnerDirector of political engagement at the Benton Institute for Broadband & Society.
Garner said the changes caused a “pure chaos” in the high speed of state offices. More than half of the states have been eliminated from their original calendar to deliver high speed to houses, he said.
The change also makes the program more competitive for satellite companies and wireless suppliers such as Verizon and T-Mobile, Garner said.
Collect analyzed in March What would mean the possible increase in satellites in orbit on low land for rural America. He found that fiber networks are generally more expensive to build, but that satellites are more expensive to maintain and “much more expensive” for consumers.
Commerce secretary, Lutnick, said in a June press release that the new program management would be effective and would deliver broadband Internet “at the right price”. The National Telecommunications and Information Administration, the Agency of the Commerce Department supervising the Pearl, refused to disclose a specific amount which it hopes to save with restructuring.
The NTIA also refused to answer the files on the questions about revisions and delays in the program.
More than 40 states had already started to select companies to provide broadband internet and fill gaps in poorly served areas, according to An agency dashboard created to follow the progress of the state.
At the end of May, the website was changed and columns showing that the states that had completed their work with federal regulators have disappeared. Three states – Delaware, Louisiana and Nevada – had reached the finish line and waited for the federal government to distribute funding.
The tracker, which Kff Health News saved in MarchDocute the steps that each state has made in their efforts of several years to create cards based on location and bring broadband internet to these missing services. Virginia-Western had completed the selection of internet service providers and a Draft disclosed From its proposed plan shows that the state should provide fiber ties to all houses and businesses.
Senator Shelley Moore Capito (RW.VA.) praised the deletion of some of the obstacles that have delayed the implementation and said that she thought that her condition would not have to make many modifications to the existing plans during a Call with journalists from Virginie-Western.
The large-strip advice of Virginia-Western worked aggressively to develop in a state where 25% of the counties lack the Internet and high-speed health providers, according to the analysis of KFF Health News.
In the county of Lincoln, in Virginia-Western, Gary Vance has 21 acres at the top of a steep crest without internet connection. Vance, who was sitting in his courtyard taking advantage of the sun a recent day, said he didn’t want to wait.
Vance said that he had various medical conditions: high blood sugar, bone deterioration, pulmonary problems – “all kinds of bullshit”. He is concerned about the inability of his family to make a phone call or to connect to the Internet.
“You cannot call anyone to go out if something happens,” said Vance, which also lacks running water.
KFF Health News, using data from federal and academic sources, found more than 200 counties – with large southern stretches, the Appalaches and the distant West – lack high -speed Internet, behavioral health suppliers and primary care physicians who serve low -income patients on Medicaid. On average, residents of these counties experienced higher rates of diabetes, obesity, chronically high high blood pressure and cardiovascular disease.
Gaps in telephone and Internet services did not cause higher sickness rates, but Ali said that it didn’t help either.
Ali, who traveled rural America for his book “Fresh Broadband farm: rural connectivity policy“Said telehealth, education, banking services and the use of artificial intelligence all require rapid download and download speeds which cannot always be guaranteed with satellite or wireless technology.
It is “the policy of good enough,” said Ali. “And this is always how we have treated rural America.”
Optical fiber cables, installed underground or on the posts, systematically provide wide -strip speeds that meet the requirements of the Federal Communications Commission for the download speed of 100 megabits per second and a download speed of 20 Mbps. On the other hand, a National speed analysisMade by Ookla, a private research and analysis company, revealed that only 17.4% of Satellite Starlink Internet users at the national level constantly obtain these minimum speeds. The report also noted that Starlink’s speeds increased nationally in the first three months of 2025.
In March, the Republican Governor of Virginia-Western, Patrick Morrisey, Announced plans To collaborate with the Trump administration on new requirements.
Republican state del. Dan LinvilleWho worked with Morrisey’s office, said his goal was possibly to get fiber everywhere, but said other opportunities could be available to get the Internet faster.
In May, the West Virginia Broadband Enhancement Council reported that it preferred fiber optic cables to satellite for its residents and signed unanimous resolution This noted that “fiber connections offer faster internet speed advantages, improved data security and increased reliability necessary to promote economic development and support for emerging technologies.”
Kff Health News is a national editorial hall that produces in -depth journalism on health problems and is one of the main KFF operating programs – an independent source of research, survey and independent journalism. Learn more about Kff.
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