Del. leads national ‘Internet for All’ funding initiative

Delaware is leading the charge in the federal government’s mission to provide internet for all.

Tuesday, the Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) approved the First State’s final proposal for the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) Program.

The program is a key feature of the federal government’s “Internet for All” initiative to connect everyone in America to affordable and reliable high-speed Internet service.   

Delaware’s plan includes $107 million in allocated BEAD funding to connect 5,721 households and businesses to internet access.

Cost of internet access & impact on education

Charlie Copeland, director of the Center for Economic & Fiscal Policy for the Caesar Rodney Institute, said the math of the program is striking.

“Delaware will spend $18,704 per location to connect 5,721 households and businesses,” he said. “This equals about 8+ years of current market-rate internet service paid upfront.”

Delaware’s plan to spend nearly $19,000 per household on broadband is excessive, he said, when private sector options like Starlink can provide service for under $1,000 in upfront costs.

Kendall Massett, executive director of the Delaware Charter Schools Network, said her group is excited to learn that Delaware’s ‘Internet for All’ Final Proposal has been approved. 

“Even before the pandemic, we know that the digital divide negatively impacted many of our communities,” she said. “For a number of our students that lacked technology and internet access, they did not have the ability to do any schoolwork at home.”

The pandemic exacerbated the effects of that digital divide, she said, causing many to fall further behind in their studies, especially when our schools were fully or partially virtual for the school day. 

Tuesday’s final proposal approval is the final step required under the BEAD statute before Delaware moves forward with signing agreements with the internet service providers it has selected to build BEAD-funded networks and begin connecting new locations this year. 

“From my perspective on behalf of the Delaware School Boards Association, this will be a great help to the rural areas of our state where it is difficult to achieve economies of scale to run high-speed internet,” said Ralph Ackerman, president of the Brandywine School District Board of Education. “It cannot come soon enough.”

In total, the program is a $42.5 billion state grant program.

“We are fortunate in Brandywine; during COVID we were able to arrange for internet access for all students,” Ackerman said. “Multiple suppliers well cover our county, and we provided hot spots to students in need.”

All 50 states, Washington, D.C., and six territories will use the funding to deploy or upgrade high-speed internet networks to ensure that everyone has access, and any remaining funding can be used on high-speed internet adoption, training, and workforce development efforts.

BEAD-eligible entities must submit for NTIA’s approval by identifying projects to extend affordable, reliable, high-speed internet service to 100 percent of unserved locations within their borders. 

“This $107 million government program risks discouraging private investment in broadband,” Copeland said. “What company can compete with free government handouts? Instead of creating expensive new programs, removing regulatory barriers could allow market solutions to reach these communities more efficiently.”

The irony, Copeland said, is that existing market solutions already offer viable alternatives. 

“If regulatory barriers were reduced instead of creating new spending programs, services like Starlink, fixed wireless providers, and traditional ISPs could serve many of these locations at a fraction of the cost,” he said. 

Delaware was able to utilize federal funding to begin the process of bridging that divide of internet access, Massett said, and this approval will help them finish that work. 

“We are excited to see this come to fruition,” she said, “and are hopeful that it will finally and fully bridge the divide.”