In a recent fact sheet released by the White House, President Biden’s $100 billion broadband proposal is part of the American jobs plan that will connect all Americans to high-speed broadband. It will also increase competition and build more public networks, rather than those that would quickly become obsolete. Although the plan will include community networks, nonprofits, and cooperatives as key players, it is expected to face fierce opposition from cable and telecommunications lobby groups because it contains some of the most unpopular ideas in the broadband industry.
One of the key ideas surely hated by all broadband providers, which advertise low tariffs and later make users pay a much higher monthly bill through hidden fees, is Biden’s plan to “require Internet providers to clearly disclose the prices they charge.” According to the White House fact sheet, “Although the president recognizes that individual subsidies may be necessary in the short term to cover Internet costs, he believes that continuing to provide subsidies to cover the costs of overpriced Internet services is not the right long-term solution for consumers or taxpayers. Americans pay too much for the Internet – much more than people in many other countries – and the President is determined to work with Congress to find a solution to lower Internet prices for all Americans, increase adoption in both rural and urban areas, hold providers accountable, and save taxpayers “money.”
For more information, read the original story in Arstechnica