Who is Served by USDA Rural Broadband Projects? Study Shows Smaller Share of Eligible American Indians and Alaska Natives Reached by ReConnect

Affordable and reliable high-speed broadband is increasingly necessary to participate in the modern economy and access Government services. Still, millions of people living in the United States, especially in rural and Tribal areas, lack access to sufficient broadband service. As recently as June 2023, more than 14 percent of households in rural areas and nearly 12 percent of those in Tribal areas lacked access to broadband, compared with 3 percent of households in metropolitan areas, according to data from the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). To address this digital divide, the U.S. Government has invested more than $50 billion in Federal broadband programs and, since 2020, has committed more than $85 billion in new broadband programs.