The Trump Admin Thinks Affordable Fiber Broadband Is Wokefrom the everything-I-don't-like-is-woke deptThu, Feb 27th 2025 05:23am - Karl BodeIts understandably not going to get the same attention as thedismantling of numerous government agencies at the hands of rich unelected manbabies, but the Trump administration is also taking aim at all the promising parts of the 2021 infrastructure bill. Especially as it relates to broadband.TheInfrastructure Investment and Jobs Act(IIJA) contained a whopping $42.5 billion to expand broadband access under the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) program. To make sure that money wasnt wasted, it contained a number of provisions (as the name kind of implies).Like demanding ISPs provide at least one tier of service poor people could afford. Or encouraging networks built with taxpayer money be open access, which,as weve discussed at length, helps boost broadband competition and lower costs. As well as encouragement that taxpayer money be spent on the most future-proof technology (fiber) where applicable. Pretty common sense stuff.King Trump earlobe nibbler Ted Cruz has been whining ever since the infrastructure bill was passed about how these kinds of common sense provisions are woke. Woke, youll recall was a pop culture term that used to mean enlightened, which was hijacked by authoritarians to whine about anything they dont like. Now new Trump NTIA boss Arielle Roth has joined the fun:Roth has criticized the programs emphasis on fiber and a woke social agenda that the NTIA has been pushing in its funding.Again, by woke we mean trying to make sure broadband that uses taxpayer money is affordable to people and trying to make sure that taxpayer money is spent on the best possible technology.What is the extremist GOP really mad about? Well one, they voted against the popular program, only to turn around and try to repeatedly take credit for it. Two, its pretty clear they dont like poor people and minorities. Three, they dont like that a lot of the money might wind up funding popular, community-owned broadband networks, instead of being given to Elon Musk and AT&T. Ive been covering telecom long enough I can tell you exactly how this is going to play out.The BEAD program is largely managed by the NTIA and States. While a lot of its is already earmarked, the GOP is going to work overtime to ensure as much money as possible goes to Elon Musks Starlink. Ignoring that Starlink isnt affordable, doesnt really scale well, ruins astronomical research, is fucking with the ozone layer, lacks decent customer service, and is run by a giant racist toddler. Theyll ignore all the important stuff like making sure U.S. broadband maps are accurate. Meanwhile theyll gut the agency in charge of keeping telecoms from ripping you off (the FCC), resulting in higher bills for everyone. Then, once theyve redirected money to cronies and gutted oversight of the sector and mapping of real-world access, theyll declare mission accomplished on U.S. broadband access.Great stuff, very innovative. And definitely not woke.Filed Under: affordable, bead, broadband, fiber, high speed internet, iija, infrastructure, ntia, telecom