Federal Communications Commission Chair Brendan Carr is planning to “Build America” through broadband access across the United States.
He made the announcement in a visit to Sioux Falls.
Rural areas in states like South Dakota have been the focal point of increasing and improving internet access in recent years.
Carr said there are unique challenges when it comes to rural broadband, and he says that’s what his “Build America” agenda aims to help.
“The idea is to make sure that every single community in the country regardless of zip code has a fair shot at next generation connectivity. That means more spectrum out there, which are the airwaves that connect communities. It means making it easier to build infrastructure," Carr said. "We just spent time with Jordan and his [Midco] crew, and they’re replacing 30-year-old plant with new, high-speed connections. It’s this type of work that we need to make sure happens everywhere in the country.”
Carr added that includes tribal nations, which have historically seen underserved internet access.
“We’re really behind the curve when it comes to internet connectivity on tribal lands. That’s one thing that we want to solve. In fact, one of my last visits here in South Dakota, I spent time at the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation with a crew that’s building out new, high-speed fiber in that community," Carr said. "So, there’s a lot more work we have to do, but that’s the point of the Build America agenda, is to make sure that every single corner of this area is going to get connected.”
In May, South Dakota had a $5 million grant cut to improve its broadband access footprint. Carr said although some funding was halted, he believes there is still future opportunity on the horizon.
“On the one hand, the airways, the spectrum you can use to connect people wirelessly, when we auction that spectrum off the federal government, so it’s put to consumer use, that actually raises revenue for the government. In fact, the One Big Beautiful Bill that’s working its way through Congress has a provision that restores the FCC’s authority to sell those airwaves into the commercial market," Carr said. "That can raise billions and billions of dollars for things like deficit reduction. The other thing we’re doing is reducing costs. So right now, it still costs too much, and it takes too long to build out internet infrastructure. So, by streamlining the permitting process, we can actually get internet built in a much more efficient way.”
He said he chose to announce his Build America agenda in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, because he believes it’s places like these who can truly stand to benefit from it.
