Biden Broadband Plan Runs Headlong Into ‘Buy American’ Mandate
It’s nearly impossible to bring fast internet to rural communities without electronic components that are made in foreign countries
It’s impossible to build the necessary broadband networks without sourcing foreign components
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President Joe Biden made clear in his State of the Union address last month that as the US spends billions of dollars on new broadband connections, “we’re going to buy American.”
But that aspiration is easier said than done. While there seems to be enough domestic fiber optic cable to connect communities, the electronic components such as routers that transform glass strands into data highways are made mainly in other countries.