Voters Support Investments In Broadband Services
By Bella Kumar
After decades of digital innovation and a pandemic that forced millions of Americans indoors, access to the Internet has become more important today than ever before. Your job, your classes, your doctor’s appointments, and your banking all can be hosted online — if you have a quality Internet connection.
Today, approximately 19 million Americans, or 6 percent of the population, live without access to broadband services. In rural areas, the number is as high as one-fourth of the population, and in tribal areas, it can reach one-third. Over 40 million Americans lack high-speed Internet, widening disparities in access to work, school, healthcare, and more.
Last year, the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) authorized $1.2 trillion for transportation and infrastructure spending, energy and power infrastructure, access to broadband internet, water infrastructure, and more.
New polling from Data for Progress shows that 56 percent of voters agree that high-speed internet should be a right for all Americans, including 70 percent of Democrats, 57 percent of Independents, and 43 percent of Republicans.
The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) is an electric utility company based in Tennessee and owned by the federal government. The TVA is currently investing $300 million to expand its broadband network to improve high-speed internet access throughout Tennessee, as well as neighboring states like Alabama, Mississippi, and Kentucky.
Voters support this investment by a +58-point margin, including Democrats by a +67-point margin, Independents by a +54-point margin, and Republicans by a +52-point margin.
For many Americans in rural communities, accessing the Internet is a matter of having the infrastructure in place to support it. An overwhelming majority of voters (75 percent) agree that utility companies should invest more to expand high-speed internet access. This includes 80 percent of Democrats, 72 percent of Independence, and 72 percent of Republicans.
Public power utilities are community-owned, not-for-profit electric utilities that provide electricity to more than 49 million Americans. Supporters of public power utilities say that they provide communities with local control of their power supply, help advance sustainable energy, and lower the cost of electricity. Opponents of public power utilities say that they are an example of government overreach in operating the electric power system and can lead to corruption and waste. After being presented with these messages, voters support public power utilities by a +44-point margin, including Democrats by a +64-point margin, Independents by a +40-point margin, and Republicans by a +29-point margin.
Broadband and high-speed internet investments are not only popular with voters, but, as the coronavirus pandemic has proved, are necessary to working life and the equitable distribution of resources. It’s clear that voters support making these resources available to more Americans who are being left behind in an increasingly digital world.
Bella Kumar (@bellakkumar) is a communications intern at Data for Progress.