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Internet access is no longer a luxury, but essential – like electricity and indoor plumbing. For public health, public safety, and economic prosperity, we are better off individually / collectively when everyone has internet access:
https://cdt.org/insights/in-the-middle-of-covid-19-can-we-all-agree-now-that-internet-access-is-a-necessity/ #COVID19
https://cdt.org/insights/in-the-middle-of-covid-19-can-we-all-agree-now-that-internet-access-is-a-necessity/ #COVID19
If there was any remaining doubt, current #coronavirus pandemic should have eliminated it. Nearly everyone who is still able to do their jobs from home is doing so via the internet. Every school is working at a breakneck pace to connect their students: https://cdt.org/insights/in-the-middle-of-covid-19-can-we-all-agree-now-that-internet-access-is-a-necessity/
So why such little regulatory oversight for companies providing a vital service? Why rely on an unenforceable pledge to assure connectivity during #COVID19? Answers have been based on premise that internet access is a "nice-to-have" if you can get it: https://cdt.org/insights/in-the-middle-of-covid-19-can-we-all-agree-now-that-internet-access-is-a-necessity/
The #coronavirus pandemic shows us that internet access is no more a luxury than employment or education. It is a conduit for both—one many rely on every day as the primary means of accessing work, school, info, & commerce as we are asked to stay at home:
https://cdt.org/insights/in-the-middle-of-covid-19-can-we-all-agree-now-that-internet-access-is-a-necessity/
https://cdt.org/insights/in-the-middle-of-covid-19-can-we-all-agree-now-that-internet-access-is-a-necessity/
The twin problems of how to provide & regulate affordable internet access to all Americans are difficult / expensive, *but not insurmountable.* And neither problem will be solved by the market, which is why these should be tackled by the government: https://cdt.org/insights/in-the-middle-of-covid-19-can-we-all-agree-now-that-internet-access-is-a-necessity/
Already programs in place to subsidize building out broadband networks & lowering cost of access for those w/ lower incomes. Yet, total expenditure for these programs still pales in comparison to what we spend supporting energy, housing, or agriculture: https://cdt.org/insights/in-the-middle-of-covid-19-can-we-all-agree-now-that-internet-access-is-a-necessity/
For reference, the $50-60 billion dollars spent on the most recent airline bailout is in the same neighborhood as estimated cost to connect the rest of America to the internet. All we need to do is change our perspective on the status of #internetaccess:
https://cdt.org/insights/in-the-middle-of-covid-19-can-we-all-agree-now-that-internet-access-is-a-necessity/
https://cdt.org/insights/in-the-middle-of-covid-19-can-we-all-agree-now-that-internet-access-is-a-necessity/
