Commerce Dept. US Data Set Shows Link Between Poverty, Lack Of Broadband Access

Vast tracks of rural America with high-poverty communities coincide with dead zones for high-speed internet access, according to data compiled in an interactive map to illustrate the scope of Biden administration efforts to ensure 100 percent broadband coverage of the US, the Commerce Department said on Thursday

WASHINGTON (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 17th June, 2021) Vast tracks of rural America with high-poverty communities coincide with dead zones for high-speed internet access, according to data compiled in an interactive map to illustrate the scope of Biden administration efforts to ensure 100 percent broadband coverage of the US, the Commerce Department said on Thursday.

"As we release this important data to the public, it paints a sobering view of the challenges facing far too many Americans as they try to connect to high-speed broadband and participate in our modern economy," Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo said in a press release. "In his American Jobs Plan, President Biden has proposed a once-in-a-lifetime investment that would finally connect one hundred percent of the country to reliable and affordable high-speed broadband."

The map puts poverty and lack of broadband access on the same page. The data set allows users to see where high-poverty communities are located and how that relates to internet usage patterns, as well as to a lack of computers and related equipment, the release said.

Aggregated data from US Census Bureau, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), private and civil society groups for the presentation shows many parts of the country with internet access speeds that fall well below the FCC benchmark for fixed broadband speeds of 25 Mbps download and 3 Mbps upload, the release added.

President Joe Biden has proposed an expenditure of up to $100 billion to upgrade the nation's broadband infrastructure at a time when the coronavirus pandemic forced millions of American workers and students to rely on the internet for remote work and study.

An estimated 6 percent and 12 percent of Americans lack access to a quality broadband network, with zero broadband access for up to 18 million people, according to a recent report by the Brookings Institution.