A bipartisan group of senators recently reintroduced the Rural Connectivity Advancement Program (RCAP) Act of 2021, which would devote 10 percent of auction proceeds for broadband buildout. RCAP would provide funding to evaluate the availability of communications infrastructure in rural areas, expedite broadband deployment, and develop more long-term services and infrastructure.
If enacted, the bill would create the Rural Broadband Assessment and Deployment Fund within the U.S. Treasury, which would distribute subsidies to providers and would be used for broadband infrastructure buildout in high-cost areas that the FCC concludes are unserved by the fixed terrestrial broadband internet access service. These areas have internet access service with download and upload speeds of at least 25 megabits per second and at least 3 megabits per second, respectively.
