It’s Time for a Digital Divide Tax
The poor execution of getting cash directly to small businesses, inappropriate amounts of PPE because of existing supply chain challenges-- highlighted that digital infrastructure is just as critical as physical infrastructure.
At a flip of a switch, we asked educators to become technologists and students to become video conferencing champions, all with the underlying presumption that the digital infrastructure and expertise were in place. As of early April 2020, 62% of counties across the US didn't have access to the FCC minimum download speeds for broadband of 25 MB. In places where broadband accessibility is readily available, most networks were not feasibly designed for the influx of users and applications.
Having worked with municipalities over the past ten years, the issue of building out the necessary infrastructure and sustaining these networks comes down to one word-money.
Creating a digital divide tax (broadband tax), much like a potential gas tax to address climate change, could conceivably, fund a much needed national digital divide infrastructure initiative.
The tax would be applied to large-cap companies like Amazon and Google, at say, .01 cents per sale for Amazon and .01 cents for Google on all digital advertisements. Additionally, an additional .01 cent per dollar can be collected to develop a national army of "Digital Stewards," recently unemployed workers of which would be trained to build and maintain regional networks. This type of bold thinking is not without precedent. America did it with the national highway system; we should do it for internet connectivity.
Some considerations and scrutiny would be required. Ownership of the underlying infrastructure, data dependency with legacy carriers like AT&T, Charter, Verizon have invested heavily in specific markets. Issues of net neutrality, monetization, security, and personal data collection, to name a few.
The time for bold thinking and leadership is upon us. It's time to act.
