By: Gowri Sunil
Opinion Editor
The World Health Organization (WHO) describes social determinants as the conditions in which people are born, grow, live, work and age as well as people’s access to power, money and resources. As society turns digital, essential services, including healthcare, education, communication, and banking, increasingly depend on reliable internet access. Broadband, high-speed internet access has therefore become a determinant of health rather than an amenity. However, access to broadband varies by area and internet provider availability, leaving residents with limited to no choice in the service. As broadband internet becomes a necessity, policymakers must require publicly funded broadband networks to be open to multiple internet providers, ensuring the public has more choice over their internet service.
The City Health Dashboard (CHD) reports that an average of 78.1% of American households have high-speed broadband connections. Despite this, notable disparities still exist in major cities like Memphis, Tennessee and Cleveland, Ohio, where broadband connection rates are more than 10% below the national average.
One reason for unequal broadband availability is infrastructure. The U.S. Government Accountability Office finds that limitations in broadband infrastructure hinder access in both urban and rural areas. To mitigate this digital divide, the government has invested more than $42 billion dollars in the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) program.
With public funding for the BEAD program, the new infrastructure must prioritize public interest over internet providers’ profit. The Institute for Local Self-Reliance reports that the high upfront cost of constructing new broadband networks makes it difficult for newer providers to compete with more established ones. Open access networks, a specific broadband infrastructure model, would allow multiple internet service providers to use the same infrastructure, decreasing the competition among providers while providing residents more service options. While this may reduce internet providers’ incentives to invest, the fact remains that this infrastructure is publicly funded and must serve the public’s interest rather than prioritize a company’s profits. Though the open access model is uncommon in the U.S., it carries significant potential, and the Utah Telecommunications Open Infrastructure Agency (UTOPIA), a local open access network, is a testament to this success. The Utah Business reports that UTOPIA partnered with 19 providers on its network and that its subscriber base doubled to 77,000 in just four years.
As broadband becomes a necessity, expanding access alone is inadequate. Access to broadband must come with a choice of internet providers, since broadband has become a factor in traditional essential services. Policymakers must protect this aspect of broadband access as they attempt to mend the digital divide so that they may actually serve the public rather than reinforce limitations. Residents can help advocate for this change by urging local representatives to implement open access requirements on publicly funded broadband networks.
(Sources: CHD, GAO, ILSR, Utah Business, WHO)