Rhode Island Needs Affordable Broadband, Not Another Boondoggle

Rhode Island Needs Affordable Broadband, Not Another Boondoggle

As school children, Rhode Islanders learn that the Ocean State was the last of the 13 original states to ratify the U.S. Constitution. Now, in a nation connected by cyberspace, not stagecoaches, Rhode Islanders can be proud of some “firsts,” including the state with the fastest measured broadband speeds, and one of the highest rates of internet coverage and availability.

 

These are certainly accomplishments worth celebrating, but Rhode Islanders should now be concerned about another first — becoming the first state in the nation to misuse federal infrastructure funds for the deployment of high-speed broadband.

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The danger with Rhode Island Commerce Secretary Liz Tanner’s approach to allocating $108 million in federal funding focuses on spending these precious one-time funds on what Rhode Islanders either don’t need or already have. Under this new program, the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment Act (BEAD), allocates funds to states after approving their broadband plans.

 

In a nutshell, the RI plan builds or upgrades networks in places that are already connected – while neglecting what citizens really need – helping families that can’t afford broadband service. 

 

Rhode Island taxpayers and elected officials should keep an eye on the RI Commerce approach as it is a glaring waste of taxpayer dollars. In other states with significant broadband infrastructure like Rhode Island, they are using these one-time funds to assist “unserved” and “underserved” areas, in that order, and populations where cost is an impediment to high-speed internet access.

 

Even more disturbing, the Rhode Island Commerce Corporation, which administers BEAD funds, seems intent on reclassifying approximately 30,000 households as under-served even though they’re already wired. These reclassifications include homes on Newport’s Ocean Avenue, including one house that recently sold for $7.1 million! In a state where only 2,309 households – about 1.3% of the population –  do not have high-speed broadband on their doorsteps, Secretary Tanner’s plan wastes money by building redundant infrastructure that Rhode Island doesn’t need.

 

Rhode Island taxpayers need to tell state officials – loud and clear – to back off this boondoggle and address the real challenges of broadband affordability and adoption. Instead of drawing broadband maps based on faulty data, RI Commerce should pause and take a step back to ensure their approach is truly equitable, allowing all families to bridge the digital divide regardless of socioeconomic status. The current plan doesn’t come close to achieving this goal.

 

Patrick Hedger is the Executive Director at the Taxpayer Protection Alliance.