Bernie Sanders Releases High-Speed Internet for All Plan
WASHINGTON – Sen. Bernie Sanders on Friday unveiled a groundbreaking plan, “High-Speed Internet for All,” to invest $150 billion to provide high-speed internet access to every household in America, dramatically lower the costs of high-speed internet services, and break up and regulate internet monopolies. The plan would require providers to offer a basic, quality internet plan at an affordable price.
“It is outrageous that across the country millions of Americans and so many of our communities do not have access to affordable high-speed internet,” said Sanders. “Access to the internet is a necessity in today's economy, and it should be available for all. We are going to take on the greedy internet, telecom, and cable monopolies and put an end to their absurd prices gauging. Just as President Roosevelt fundamentally made America more equal by bringing electricity to every farm and rural community over 80 years ago, as president, I will do the same with high-speed internet.”
Having high-speed internet is central to the basic functions of families, students, and businesses, yet across the country huge swaths of the population lack access to an internet connection or cannot afford the options available.
As President, Sanders will stop the practice of treating high-speed internet access like a luxury item, and instead treat it like a public utility that everyone deserves as a basic human right. Sanders will also take on the greed of the telecom and cable monopolies who exploit their dominant market power to rip off consumers and lobby government at all levels to keep out competition. Ending this type of greed and corruption will be a major priority under a Sanders administration.
Bernie’s plan would:
• Provide $150 billion through the Green New Deal in infrastructure grants and technical assistance for municipalities and/or states to build publicly owned and democratically controlled, co-operative, or open access broadband networks.
• Require that all internet service providers offer a Basic Internet Plan that provides quality broadband speeds at an affordable price.
• Break up internet service provider and cable monopolies, bar service providers from providing content, and unwind anticompetitive mergers.
• Increase the FCC definition of minimum broadband speeds to 100mbps for downloads and 10mbps for uploads.
• Set aside $7.5 billion to expand high-speed broadband in Indian Country and fully resource the FCC’s Office of Native Affairs and Policy.
• Ensure people with disabilities have full access to the internet.
• Guarantee all public housing residents free broadband services.
• Ensure broadband infrastructure is resilient to the effects of climate change.
