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Fast, affordable Internet access for all.
Washington DC Earmarks $61.3 Million In Rescue Plan Funds For Broadband, Community Improvements
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Washington DC Mayor Muriel Bowser has announced that the District is poised to use $61.3 million in American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds to “support the construction of community facilities” and expand affordable broadband to underserved communities.
Though details are scant, according to the District’s announcement, the funding received from the Treasury Department will be used to drive improvements for the District’s Southeast Library, the Shaw Library, Library Community Business Centers, the Anacostia Recreation Center, and the Ward 8 Senior Wellness Center. District leaders say they’re also eyeing as-yet-undefined improvements to affordable broadband access across the city of 689,000.
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Rescue Plan recipients are facing an end-of-year deadline to both budget and obligate (contract) the federal funding for use or risk losing the funds entirely.
“The Biden-Harris Administration is making progress across the country to ensure Americans have access to the services and facilities that help them lead healthy lives and access economic opportunity,” U.S. Deputy Secretary of the Treasury Wally Adeyemo said of the funding.
“These resources will deliver critical upgrades at community facilities for residents, particularly students and seniors, that provide essential services like high-speed Internet, financial literacy, and early learning opportunities.”
Rescue Plan funds generally involve more spending flexibility than upcoming BEAD (Broadband Equity And Deployment) infrastructure funds, which involve very specific broadband coverage and deployment timeline requirements. Washington DC is also poised to receive more than $100 million in BEAD broadband funding next year.
Many neighborhoods in DC are heavily dominated by a monopoly or duopoly of Comcast (Xfinity) and Verizon (FiOS). Muted competition can, in some DC neighborhoods, result in slower speeds, high prices, patchy network coverage, and substandard customer service.
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Marginalized and minority neighborhoods tend to be the most neglected when it comes to affordable broadband access. The DC State Broadband and Digital Equity Office (SBDEO) is working on shoring up access to the estimated 13 percent of district residents that lack access to broadband (often due to affordability).
Upcoming BEAD funding may help shore up last mile access with a focus on Wards 5, 7 and 8. The Rescue Plan allocations, in contrast, are more focused on improving broadband access to key anchor institutions in the District.
“We know that when we have great facilities – and great programming in those facilities – that brings people in the community together,” DC Mayor Bowser said of the project. “It helps keep our residents healthy and engaged, it helps us connect more residents to resources, and it gives Washingtonians more opportunities to get to know their neighbors. We're grateful to have the Biden-Harris Administration’s support in building stronger, more connected communities. We’re ready to get these dollars out the door and into projects that will benefit DC residents.”
Inline image of utility trucks courtesy of Ted Eytan, Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International
Inline image of Washington DC residential buildings courtesy of Ted Eytan, Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International
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