Biden is set to announce how billions of dollars for expanding broadband access will be distributed

 President Joe Biden is expected to announce on Monday his administration's plans to distribute billions of dollars appropriated by Congress to deliver the internet to every household and small business in the United States.  

“We all know how difficult life is when electricity goes down after a storm or for other reasons,” Zients said on a Friday call with reporters to preview the announcement. “For millions of Americans in rural communities in particular, the internet is down a lot. Sometimes there’s not even any access.” 

The amount each state, territory and Washington, D.C., will receive from the $42.5 billion program depends primarily on the number of unserved locations in each jurisdiction or those locations that lack access to internet speeds of at least 25 megabits per second download and 3 Mbps upload. Download speeds involve retrieving information from the internet, including streaming movies and TV. Upload speeds determine how fast information travels from a computer to the internet, like sending emails or publishing photos online. 

More than 7% of the country falls under the underserved category, according to maps recently completed by the Federal Communications Commission to set the course for the massive undertaking.