Gulf States will get $100M to expand internet access. Here’s what they’re prioritizing
As Alabama, Louisiana and Mississippi are gearing up to receive at least $100 million each to expand high speed internet access as part of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, a new report from Pew Trust examined how individual states fund their broadband projects.
The study found that while most states prioritize reaching unserved communities — areas where internet speeds are lower than the Federal Communications Commission’s threshold for broadband — what areas are eligible and even standards for broadband speeds differ from state to state.
The FCC defines broadband as 25 megabits per second or higher for downloads and 3 Mbps or higher for uploads — commonly referred to as 25/3 Mbps. This threshold, however, can be too slow for many users as more of our daily functions happen online, tech experts say. In March, a group of U.S. Senators pushed for the FCC to update its definition to 100/100 Mbps.
How well a 25/3 Mbps connection works can be impacted by different factors, including how many users are in a household and how they are using the connection. Applications like Zoom, which have become necessary for the millions of people taking classes online or working remotely during the pandemic, also require faster upload speeds.
In some rural counties of Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana, less than three percent of households have internet speeds of 25/3 Mbps, according to data analysis from Vox’s tech site the Verge. A different study from the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies found that broadband is out of reach for nearly one in four Black residents in the rural South.
As states begin funding their broadband projects choosing which internet speeds to reach for is important so a new digital gap is not created. Anna Read, Senior Officer of Pew’s Broadband Access Initiative, said this digital divide is called the donut hole effect.
“When you’re looking at only finding areas lacking services at [low speeds] and then incentivizing speeds of 100 Mbps, and you’re creating a fairly large gap between areas that kind of fell in the middle of not being unserved, but not having the speed that you’re incentivizing providers to build to with those funded projects,” Read said.
Some states, like Florida, set their broadband threshold at 10 Mbps for downloads. Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana set theirs at the FCC’s recommended 25/3, and Mississippi is requiring new projects to meet the higher 100/100 Mbps threshold. Alabama and Louisiana both have plans to scale their networks up to eventually reach the 100/100 Mbps recommendation — Louisiana hopes to accomplish this by 2029.
Pew’s report recommends that states consider how to improve broadband access in conjunction with how to keep internet plans affordable for unserved and underserved communities.
Read says lawmakers should not go too fast in trying to speed things up. Slowing down the decision-making process could deliver faster speeds more equitably.
“States have the opportunity to take time to plan, to ensure that that funding is meeting the needs of their unserved areas and their underserved areas,” she said.
This story was produced by the Gulf States Newsroom, a collaboration between Mississippi Public Broadcasting, WBHM in Birmingham, Alabama, WWNO in New Orleans and NPR.
Supreme Court appears split in tax foreclosure case
At issue is whether a county can seize homeowners' residence for unpaid property taxes and sell the house at auction for less than the homeowners would get if they put their home on the market themselves.
Top House Dem wants Justice Department to explain missing Trump-related Epstein files
After NPR reporting revealed dozens of pages of Epstein files related to President Trump appear to be missing from the public record, a top House Democrat wants to know why.
ICE won’t be at polling places this year, a Trump DHS official promises
In a call with top state voting officials, a Department of Homeland Security official stated unequivocally that immigration agents would not be patrolling polling places during this year's midterms.
Cubans from US killed after speedboat opens fire on island’s troops, Havana says
Cuba says the 10 passengers on a boat that opened fire on its soldiers were armed Cubans living in the U.S. who were trying to infiltrate the island and unleash terrorism. Secretary of State Marco Rubio says the U.S. is gathering its own information.
Surgeon general nominee Means questioned about vaccines, birth control and financial conflicts
During a confirmation hearing, senators asked Dr. Casey Means about her current positions and her past statements on a range of public health issues.
Rock & Roll Hall of Fame 2026 shortlist includes Lauryn Hill, Shakira and Wu-Tang Clan
The shortlist also includes a 1990s pop diva, heavy metal pioneers and a legendary R&B singer and producer.
