Consumer-advocacy group Public Knowledge said it is “disappointed that Congress did not provide funding to keep students connected as they study from home” but that the “broadband subsidies will still benefit students and families at risk of losing their connectivity… No American should be forced to go without food, water, electricity, or essential communications over broadband.”

Pretty much sums up my feelings. Broadband is essential in every use of the word. It’s time to handle ISPs as that, a utility, regulated and subsidized until every farmhouse and outhouse has gigabyte speeds. There is no “free market” at work here. To pretend is to signal you can afford whatever your ISP is charging without a second thought.