The US presidential election is in its final stages. Ahead of election day on November 5, Engadget took a look at where the candidates, Kamala Harris and Donald Trump, stand on the most important technology issues of our day.
Broadband access to the poorest and most rural communities has been a major campaign issue since 2008. Bridging the digital divide was a key part of Barack Obama’s speech. And, while far from perfect, his administration is doing a lot of work to expand the nation’s fiber-optic infrastructure, free up wireless spectrum and expand subsidized access for low-income families. Although successive administrations have promised to continue the work of bringing high-speed Internet to the most underserved communities, the results have been disappointing. Both Kamala Harris and Donald Trump are committed to getting Americans online, but political realities will make that goal difficult.
Kamala Harris
During the Biden administration, Harris served as a sort of unofficial broadband czar (similar to his other unofficial titles of AI czar and border czar). This means that he is deeply involved and expected to carry forward current administration policies. That could give him a chance to salvage some kind of legacy from what is currently Biden’s apparent record on broadband.
Under President Biden, the White House has received nearly $90 billion to close the digital divide, $42.5 billion of which is specifically for BEAD, the Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment program. This gives states money to fund the planning and construction of broadband infrastructure, whether that’s deploying new fiber to rural areas, installing Wi-Fi in low-income homes or training workers in new telecommunications jobs. Unfortunately, BEAD has been plagued by many delays, and very little money has been released. Virginia received initial approval for up to $1.48 billion in funding in late July, despite being the first to apply in September of 2023.
There is a lot of blame surrounding the slow and awkward rollout of BEAD, but conservationists have successfully turned it into a weapon against Harris. Strict requirements regarding environmental impact, labor practices and affordable access have made BEAD an easy target for Republicans who see regulation and bureaucracy as the enemy of freedom and economic growth.
NTIA (National Telecommunications and Information Administration), which manages BEAD, has found itself on the defensive, saying that the program is on track. However, it is unlikely that any BEAD-funded projects will move forward until 2025 if not later.
As part of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, BEAD is an important part of President Biden’s (and Vice President Harris’) legacy. Harris management’s focus is likely to accelerate the distribution of BEAD funds and accelerate the construction of projects such as fiberoptic and 5G infrastructure. But there is little chance of major policy changes under his leadership.
Donald Trump
Similar to President Biden, Donald Trump made great promises about expanding access to broadband, especially in rural communities, but has largely failed to deliver. Not only that, but the Democrats managed to turn that failure into a campaign weapon against him in 2020.
Under Trump and Ajit Pai, the FCC launched the Rural Digital Opportunity Fund, which pledged $20.4 billion to expand rural broadband. However, it was a retooling of an existing subsidy program established under Obama. The Trump administration’s efforts have otherwise been more modest than those under Biden or Obama, and include initiatives such as investing $1.3 billion through the Agriculture Department’s Coordinating Program.
Neither Trump nor the RNC has much to say about rural broadband or the digital divide this time around. That may suggest that another term will be redefined as investment in small rather than large infrastructure projects. While the Trump campaign has tried to distance itself from Project 2025, the document was written by several people in Trump’s orbit, including former staffers. Therefore, it is not time to think that he might adopt some, if not most, of its policies.
That document focuses heavily on what could be seen as one of the Trump administration’s technological fronts: 5G. Project 2025 calls for freeing up more spectrum for wireless broadband and simplifying the licensing process. It requires the FCC to pursue an aggressive strategy to free up radio frequencies and sell them to commercial interests. And, unsurprisingly, it calls for loosening regulations on things like environmental impact and restrictions on state construction in hopes of encouraging the construction of more cell sites. It also wants to speed up the approval process for satellite providers, such as StarLink, which it sees as vital to America’s economic and national security interests.
Project 2025 calls for these efforts to be integrated as part of a national broadband strategy. It cites a 2022 Government Accountability Office report, which says there are “more than 100 programs managed by 15 agencies” as evidence of mismanagement and potential waste.
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