Sponsors (4)
The bill raises minimum broadband performance for Community Connect grants to improve service quality and future-proof investments, but it risks excluding or disadvantaging the most remote communities and smaller providers by increasing costs and eligibility barriers.
Rural residents in communities funded by Community Connect will receive higher baseline broadband speeds (25/3 Mbps), improving internet quality for households and small businesses.
Students and remote workers in funded communities will have better access to online education and telework because of faster upload and download capacities.
Taxpayers and funded communities may get more future-proof projects because higher minimum speeds reduce the need for near-term upgrades and extend the useful life of federal investments.
Rural communities where providers cannot meet the 25/3 Mbps floor may be excluded or delayed from receiving grants, leaving some areas without timely broadband deployment.
Small providers and smaller projects may face higher build or upgrade costs to meet the new minimums, reducing competition for grants and potentially raising overall project costs.
The funding shift toward projects that can already meet higher-capacity requirements may favor better-served areas and leave the most remote or least-capable communities underserved.
Based on analysis of 3 sections of legislative text.
Raises Community Connect Grant Program speed minima from 10/1 Mbps to 25/3 Mbps so projects must meet higher service-speed thresholds.
Introduced March 27, 2026 by April McClain Delaney · Last progress March 27, 2026
Raises the minimum broadband speed thresholds used by the Community Connect Grant Program so projects must meet higher service-speed minima. Specifically, the primary upload/download threshold increases from 10 Mbps to 25 Mbps, and the lower-tier threshold rises from 1 Mbps to 3 Mbps, with the changes taking effect six months after enactment.