If the federal infrastructure bill makes it through the House of Representatives and receives President Joe Biden's signature, $65 billion will go to broadband. What does that really mean, though, for America's future?
In modern U.S. politics, there are no guarantees. Despite bipartisan support for the $1 trillion federal infrastructure bill, the bill faces political hurdles among the Democratic members of the House of Representatives.
Read more: US: Will the Infrastructure Bill Fix America's Broadband Issues?
Faster internet will be coming to Eau Claire because of a new fiber optic network.
Tuesday night, the Eau Claire City Council unanimously voted 11 to 0 in favor of a memorandum of understanding with TDS Telecom, a Madison-based broadband company.
Read more: US: Wisconsin: Faster internet coming to Eau Claire with new fiber optic network
Congress will continue to weigh provisions of a $1 trillion infrastructure package in late September while the private sector begins assessing how it might cash in on public projects for roads, bridges and broadband as well as smart transportation and electric vehicles.
One provision sets aside $500 million in grants for smart community projects to improve transportation efficiency and safety. A separate resolution in Congress also calls for setting transportation priorities on achieving zero traffic deaths in the U.S. compared to more than 42,000 in 2020 alone.
Read more: US: Hexagon: Infrastructure bill foresees safe, efficient, connected communities
The $1 trillion infrastructure bill moving through Congress has the potential to be a game-changer for cities as they consider projects in areas like broadband connectivity and other urban technology projects.
Urban technology advocates are closely watching the development of a major piece of infrastructure legislation as it makes its way through Congress, anticipating a rapid expansion in connectivity, electric vehicle adoption, transit improvements and more, should the measure pass.
Read more: US: Infrastructure Bill Could Greatly Expand Smart City Projects
The infrastructure that will be required to enable all the things 5G promises to enable, from pervasive VR and AR to autonomous vehicles, goes well beyond new antennas on rooftops and cell towers. It will need new fiber lines, computing, storage, networking equipment, sensors, cooling systems, power, enclosures, physical security… you get the idea.
Keith Rutledge, general manager of Compass Datacenters’ EdgePoint business, likened the scale of the buildout of infrastructure to support the digital future we’ve been promised for years to that of the electrification of the United States in the first half of last century.
Read more: US: Texas: Pilot in Austin to Offer Early Look at Edge Computing at Scale