The White House on Monday allocated $42 billion to the country’s 50 states and US territories to universalize broadband access to the Internet by 2030, launching a new advertising campaign for President Joe Biden’s economic policies, News.ro reported with reference to Reuters.

Funding for the Broadband Equity and Deployment Program was authorized by Biden’s $1 trillion infrastructure bill of 2021. The costs will be based on a recently released Federal Communications Commission map detailing Internet access gaps.

Texas and California – the two most populous US states – lead the funding list with $3.1 billion and $1.9 billion, respectively. But other less populous states, such as Virginia, Alabama and Louisiana, made the top 10 for funding because of a lack of broadband access.

These states have large rural areas with less Internet access than their large urban counterparts.

“This is the largest investment in high-speed Internet. Because in order to make today’s economy work for everyone, access to the Internet is as important as electricity, water or other basic services,” Biden said in his speech on Monday at White. House.

Funds range from $27 million for U.S. territories such as the U.S. Virgin Islands to more than $3.3 billion for Texas, with each state receiving a minimum of $107 million. (photo: Paulus Rusyanto / Dreamstime.com)