Bernie Sanders Pledges High-Speed Internet for All
US presidential candidate Bernie Sanders today released a plan to introduce high-speed internet to every American household if he wins the 2020 election.
The High-Speed Internet for All proposal suggests giving local and state governments $150bn in grants and aid to create publicly owned broadband networks. Of this funding, $7.5bn would be ring-fenced to "expand high-speed broadband in Indian Country and fully resource the FCC’s Office of Native Affairs and Policy."
In a statement released on his website that will likely strike a chord with voters far younger than he is, Sanders said that the internet must be treated as "a public utility that everyone deserves as a basic human right." If elected as president next year, the Vermont senator said he would roll out the plan by the end of his first term.
The plan Sanders has drawn up involves antitrust authorities taking action to dismantle the "internet service provider and cable monopolies" that are currently in play in the US and would see the reinstatement of the net neutrality regulation that was repealed in June last year.
Sanders said the proposal would stop the internet from operating as a "price-gouging profit machine" for service providers. Internet and cable companies would be required to put a stop to hidden fees and be more transparent in disclosing the cost of services.
