It’s not just about the dollars but about spending the money effectively. The focus should be on reducing costs for the private companies that provide most of the investment, rather than propping up sickly projects. In our estimation, the main villain for states and Internet service providers is complexity. The Government Accountability Office recently reported that there are more than 100 federal broadband programs at more than a dozen agencies. The GAO declared bluntly: “The U.S. broadband efforts are not guided by a national strategy with clear roles, goals, objectives, and performance measures.” Yet new federal subsidies are flowing, and there are already signs of weak programs and excessive costs, including one project spending more than $200,000 per household.
