The taxpayer money allocated toward broadband continues to grow at an accelerated — some might argue exponential — pace as bureaucrats rush toward their goal of 100 percent connectivity. Critics are concerned that the massive amounts of spending already allocated this year for broadband will be wasted and not help close the digital divide.
For example, $9.6 billion in federal funding was dedicated to broadband in 2019. That number grew to $9.9 billion in 2020. The funding dedicated in 2021 and beyond is an incredible $127.3 billion.
That doesn’t even count nearly $788 billion in COVID-19 relief and stimulus funding that’s available for many uses, including broadband.
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