City Officials Worry Rural Areas Will Get More Federal Aid for Broadband
2021-09-28
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1Officials in American cities are raising concerns that new federal money to expand high-speed internet services may favor rural areas.
2Leaders in cities say the rule could hurt some urban communities that also want financial help to upgrade their internet services.
3The money is part of a $350 billion government aid program for state and local governments to help them recover from the coronavirus crisis.
4The U.S. Treasury Department approved use of the aid for expanding and improving high-speed internet services.
5But a government rule sets eligibility requirements based on internet speeds.
6To receive assistance, communities must have internet upload speeds below 25 megabits per second (Mbps), and download speeds under 3 Mbps.
7The U.S. Federal Communications Commission defines high-speed internet - also known as broadband - as being above these speeds.
8The Treasury rule is aimed at providing financing to remote, rural areas that have slow or no internet service.
9But officials in cities believe the eligibility requirements do not pay attention to their internet needs.
10They say that although city areas have broadband available, internet speeds may not be fast enough to meet local demands.
11For example, some broadband speeds in cities might not be fast enough to permit a whole family to work, study and watch video at the same time, these officials say.
12Such a need became very common in U.S. households during the coronavirus pandemic.
13Detta Kissel is a retired Treasury Department lawyer who used to write agency rules.
14She now works on efforts to expand broadband services in her community in Arlington, Virginia.
15Kissel told The Associated Press the rule is "basically prioritizing those rural areas over the underserved urban areas where there is more population."
16Several cities have urged the Treasury Department to change the rule.
17The cities include Washington D.C., Los Angeles, Milwaukee, Wisconsin and San Antonio, Texas.
18Some officials want the government to define underserved areas as places with internet download and upload speeds below 100 Mbps.
19One study suggests that, by changing the definition of high-speed internet, 82 million households and businesses instead of 11 million would see gains from the aid.
20The study was carried out for America's Communications Association, which represents small and medium-sized internet providers.
21If the Treasury Department goes forward with its rule as proposed, internet speeds in some rural areas currently lacking broadband could jump ahead of some city areas.
22That possibility has been criticized by some mayors.
23"The inner city of Memphis is as in a dire need of broadband connection as rural Tennessee," said Memphis Mayor Jim Strickland.
24In Milwaukee, people already have at least one internet provider offering download speeds of 25 Mbps and upload speeds of 3 Mbps.
25But in some parts of the city, fewer than half the households have internet service because of the cost, said David Henke, the city's chief information officer.
26"If you don't have a job and you can't afford broadband, that's kind of a cycle," Henke said.
27"You're locked out of remote learning, remote work, telemedicine and participating basically in a modern society."
28Broadband industry groups have urged the Treasury Department to keep to its plan to provide money to areas with the slowest internet speeds.
29Although the public comment period ended in July, the Treasury has set no date to publish the rule's final version.
30A Treasury official said the process of examining the comments is likely "to continue into the fall."
31I'm Bryan Lynn.
1Officials in American cities are raising concerns that new federal money to expand high-speed internet services may favor rural areas. 2Leaders in cities say the rule could hurt some urban communities that also want financial help to upgrade their internet services. 3The money is part of a $350 billion government aid program for state and local governments to help them recover from the coronavirus crisis. The U.S. Treasury Department approved use of the aid for expanding and improving high-speed internet services. 4But a government rule sets eligibility requirements based on internet speeds. To receive assistance, communities must have internet upload speeds below 25 megabits per second (Mbps), and download speeds under 3 Mbps. The U.S. Federal Communications Commission defines high-speed internet - also known as broadband - as being above these speeds. 5The Treasury rule is aimed at providing financing to remote, rural areas that have slow or no internet service. But officials in cities believe the eligibility requirements do not pay attention to their internet needs. They say that although city areas have broadband available, internet speeds may not be fast enough to meet local demands. 6For example, some broadband speeds in cities might not be fast enough to permit a whole family to work, study and watch video at the same time, these officials say. Such a need became very common in U.S. households during the coronavirus pandemic. 7Detta Kissel is a retired Treasury Department lawyer who used to write agency rules. She now works on efforts to expand broadband services in her community in Arlington, Virginia. Kissel told The Associated Press the rule is "basically prioritizing those rural areas over the underserved urban areas where there is more population." 8Several cities have urged the Treasury Department to change the rule. The cities include Washington D.C., Los Angeles, Milwaukee, Wisconsin and San Antonio, Texas. Some officials want the government to define underserved areas as places with internet download and upload speeds below 100 Mbps. 9One study suggests that, by changing the definition of high-speed internet, 82 million households and businesses instead of 11 million would see gains from the aid. The study was carried out for America's Communications Association, which represents small and medium-sized internet providers. 10If the Treasury Department goes forward with its rule as proposed, internet speeds in some rural areas currently lacking broadband could jump ahead of some city areas. That possibility has been criticized by some mayors. 11"The inner city of Memphis is as in a dire need of broadband connection as rural Tennessee," said Memphis Mayor Jim Strickland. 12In Milwaukee, people already have at least one internet provider offering download speeds of 25 Mbps and upload speeds of 3 Mbps. But in some parts of the city, fewer than half the households have internet service because of the cost, said David Henke, the city's chief information officer. 13"If you don't have a job and you can't afford broadband, that's kind of a cycle," Henke said. "You're locked out of remote learning, remote work, telemedicine and participating basically in a modern society." 14Broadband industry groups have urged the Treasury Department to keep to its plan to provide money to areas with the slowest internet speeds. 15Although the public comment period ended in July, the Treasury has set no date to publish the rule's final version. A Treasury official said the process of examining the comments is likely "to continue into the fall." 16I'm Bryan Lynn. 17The Associated Press reported this story. Bryan Lynn adapted the report for VOA Learning English. Mario Ritter, Jr. was the editor. 18We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments section, and visit our Facebook page. 19________________________________________________ 20Words in This Story 21upgrade - v. to improve something by making it newer or better quality 22eligible - adj. qualified to take part in a program or activity 23remote - adj. far away, from a distance 24prioritize - adj. to decide which of a group of things are the most important and require attention first 25urban -adj. belonging or relating to a city 26dire - adj. very serious or bad 27afford - v. have enough money to buy something 28cycle -n. a set of events or actions that happen again and again in the same order 29participate - v. take part in