How a bill from the spouse of California’s AG may hurt broadband access in rural town | Opinion
The Internet is a lifeline to jobs, education and government services. But many rural communities are stuck in the digital dark ages, cut off from online opportunities because of economic challenges and a lack of broadband infrastructure to serve small towns with spread-out populations.
In the last few years, that’s started to change. In 2022, 28% of Americans living in rural areas lacked access to high-speed home broadband — down from 42% in 2018. Now, thanks to strong public policy, like the $42 billion bipartisan federal Broadband Equity Access and Deployment Program program and even greater private sector investments to connect rural communities, those numbers are set to plummet.
Meanwhile, the White House has pledged “to connect everyone in America to reliable, affordable high-speed internet” in the next six years.
Opinion
We’ve seen what’s possible in my hometown, Biola, where the telecommunications company, Comcast, recently pumped in a million dollars to build out high-speed internet connections for the entire community. It worked with schools and local community groups to offer education, low-cost laptops and tech support for all residents. Backstopped by low-cost options like “Internet Essentials” that keep prices affordable for everyone regardless of means, this new network has jump-started digital life in our community.
No one in California should be left out if we can get affordable, high-speed broadband in a Fresno County town like Biola, with less than 1,500 people.
But just as there is finally hope for rural Californians who have been waiting years for quality internet, a new set of broadband rules being considered in Sacramento could effectively slam the door on this progress.
Assembly Bill 2239, from Oakland Democrat Mia Bonta, purports to advance digital equity and promote broadband access. But by radically increasing the business risk and cost of building networks and wiring new communities, AB 2239 would set back progress and make it far more difficult to bring fast internet to rural communities in our state.
The bill is a well-intentioned effort to outlaw “digital discrimination” by ensuring that networks are built fairly to serve all communities. The problem is that the bill’s definition of “discrimination” sweeps far beyond intentional decisions based on improper criteria, like race or religion.
Instead, AB 2239 could expose broadband providers to substantial penalties for any business decision that results in a “disparate impact” on different groups, regardless of motive or intent.
No business can know exactly how complicated business, policy and engineering choices — which themselves have nothing to do with race, or other demographic characteristics — may have different impacts on different groups of consumers. Many beneficial policies, like offering customer service in different languages, upgrading networks to increase speeds, and providing discounts in various geographic areas or to different groups, will invariably impact different communities in different ways.
The unpredictable risks created by AB 2239 would subject broadband providers to liability for legitimate, nondiscriminatory business judgments essential to maintaining private investment and improving California’s broadband infrastructure.
Since elected prosecutors charged with enforcing the law could always recast one community’s benefit as another’s “disparate impact,” the bill will make companies less likely to innovate or build out service to new areas.
Digital discrimination is a serious issue, and rules that outlaw and punish intentionally discriminatory business practices make a lot of sense. But efforts to address this problem must not be allowed to chill deployment to rural communities — or any other underserved areas — that have been waiting years for access to affordable, high-speed broadband service.
We’re finally seeing long-overdue progress wiring rural communities like Biola. We can’t afford to have lawmakers in Sacramento accidentally — or purposefully — slam on the brakes.
Elaine Cervantes is the general manager of the Biola Community Services District.
