The infrastructure grades from the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) are in, and Broadband has a lot of room for improvement.
“The 2025 Report Card for America’s Infrastructure” says that “Broadband was introduced as a graded category in 2025, coming in a C+.” The broadband section of the report contains a good deal of praise for the progress made despite the comparatively low score, however.
The report says that, in 2000, only 1% of U.S. adults had home broadband access. The figure has shot up to 80% today. The report also said that if broadband speeds and adoption had remained at levels achieved in 2010, the nation would have ceded $1.3 trillion in growth in the decade from 2010 to 2020.
Investment has been impressive as well. The report says that the private sector has spent approximately $2.2 trillion for broadband infrastructure since 1996, and the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) has added $65 billion.
But work remains. “[B]roadband access and adoption continue to face several challenges,” according to the report. “Estimates show that 10% of households (12.7 million) do not have a broadband subscription, whether at home or on a mobile device.”
ASCE makes several recommendations that would improve its broadband infrastructure grade:
- Incentivize the latest up-to-date codes and standards for utility poles and other structures that are often used for broadband deployment.
- Expand dig-once policies to include broadband deployment plans in more public works projects, specifically transportation, energy, and water improvements that are already requiring work above and below the ground.
- Encourage partnerships with state and local agencies and broadband providers to facilitate service uptake for vulnerable communities.
- Facilitate state-based reporting on the implementation of broadband plans, the use of the Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment (BEAD) Program, and other federal broadband funding.
- Account for lifecycle costs and possible recovery costs from systems failures when delivering broadband projects.
- Provide dedicated, predictable funding for broadband affordability programs.
- Incentivize internet service providers to provide better service data for key performance indicators such as delivered speeds and reliability of service.
There is uncertainty regarding broadband infrastructure as the new administration takes charge. On one hand, last week the FCC released orders aimed at accelerating the transition from copper to fiber.
On the other hand, earlier this month Congress and the Commerce Department made it clear that changes to the BEAD Program are coming.
New Street Research policy advisor Blair Levin — who headed up the 2009 National Broadband Plan — shared potential BEAD reforms and suggested which would have the most and least impact.
