White House report cards reveal top and bottom of the broadband class

As the Biden/Harris administration continues to seek and build support for its $2 trillion American Jobs Plan, the White House issued a series of report cards for individual states, grading their overall infrastructure and outlining weaknesses in specific categories, including broadband.

The report cards – or fact sheets, as the White House is calling them – would not delight any of these states or regions' parents, with no one scoring above a C+. The most common grade of C- was earned by a plurality of states including California, New York, Ohio, Alabama, Alaska, Indiana and others.

The lowest infrastructure grades of D+ went to Mississippi and New Jersey; as well as Puerto Rico with a D-.

On access to broadband specifically, here's how some of the states scored:

Bottom of the class:

• Mississippi: By the numbers, 26% of Mississippians live in areas where "there is no broadband infrastructure that provides minimally acceptable speeds." Some 50.1% of Mississippians live in areas with only one high-speed Internet provider; and 23% of Mississippi households don't have an Internet subscription.

• Arkansas: 27% of Arkansas residents live in areas with no minimally acceptable broadband; 54% have access to just one Internet provider; and 20% of households don't have an Internet subscription.

• Alaska: 24.5% of Alaskans live in areas with no minimally acceptable broadband; 68.8% have access to just one Internet provider; and 12% of Alaskan households don't have an Internet subscription.

• New Mexico: 22% of New Mexico residents live in areas with no minimally acceptable broadband; 68.9% have access to just one Internet provider; and 21% of New Mexico households don't have an Internet subscription.

• Puerto Rico: Over 13% of Puerto Ricans live in areas with no minimally acceptable broadband; 68.8% have access to just one Internet provider; and nearly 40% of households don't have an Internet subscription.

Top* of the class (*with much room for improvement...):

• Washington: 8.49% of Washintonians live in areas with no minimally acceptable broadband; 53.82% have access to just one Internet provider; and 8.8% of households don't have an Internet subscription.
• Colorado: 12.1% of Coloradans live in areas with no minimally acceptable broadband; 38.1% have access to just one Internet provider; and 9% of households don't have an Internet subscription.
• Utah: 9.25% of Utahns live in areas with no minimally acceptable broadband; 54.35% have access to just one Internet provider; and 9.2% of households don't have an Internet subscription.
• California: 5.5% of Californians live in areas with no minimally acceptable broadband; 59.2% have access to just one Internet provider; and 10% of households don't have an Internet subscription.
• Maryland: 3.8% of Marylanders live in areas with no minimally acceptable broadband; 34.5% have access to just one Internet provider; and 10.9% of households don't have an Internet subscription.

The fact sheets are designed to promote the American Jobs Plan, which proposes investing $100 billion to deliver "universal, reliable, high-speed, and affordable" broadband to everyone in the country. Currently, there are several broadband bills floating around in Congress ranging from the $15 billion American Broadband Buildout Act to the $80 billion Accessible, Affordable Internet for All Act. Negotiations on the infrastructure package are expected to continue through the spring and summer.

Related posts:

• Podcast: The Divide – David Gilford on local priorities for federal broadband funds
• The billion dollar fight to cross the digital divide gets dirty
• Biden's big infrastructure plan bills broadband as 'the new electricity'

— Nicole Ferraro, contributing editor and host of "The Divide" and "What's the Story?" Light Reading