This year, we’ve taken a major step toward closing the digital divide, but we still have work to do. Additionally, Congress still has yet to take action on setting a national privacy standard. Here are the latest updates:

5G for Home Services Can Help Close the Digital Divide

This year, President Biden signed the Infrastructure Investment & Jobs Act, which will deliver $42.5 billion dollars of investment to help bring faster home broadband to millions of Americans. This will help fund broadband infrastructure projects across the country—each state will get at least $100 million for these efforts.

Too many Americans don’t have home broadband. Millions of children lack access to the internet at home and nearly half of the American workforce worked remotely last year, which required internet connectivity. This program prioritizes unserved and underserved households in the U.S., quality of service standards that will bring faster speeds to American households, cybersecurity and supply chain risk management, and best practices for reliability and resilience.

What does this mean for you? Higher quality, reliable speeds, and access for families who need it the most. Think of a typical American family of five using the same internet connection simultaneously:

We Still Need a National Privacy Law

While we’ve made significant progress toward wireless connectivity this year, Americans still need a national privacy law to set a standard of protection across the country. Without a national privacy standard, states across the country have introduced their own legislation, creating a confusing patchwork of inconsistent laws.

In the absence of a unified set of principles that offer consistent privacy protections, we risk a slowdown in technological innovation and cost increases that trickle down to our wallets.

The thing is, the internet doesn’t recognize state boundaries, so your data privacy rights can change the moment you cross state lines. Your privacy should be protected no matter where you are—we need a national privacy law that protects all Americans equally.

There is good news: the infrastructure bill passed because people like you made your voice heard. We can do the same by telling Congress that it is time to pass a national privacy law. Sign up for email alerts from ACTwireless for the latest updates on wireless policies and legislation.