‘Just as important as electricity or water’: President Biden said the US will spend $42B to give ‘every person in America’ access to the internet by 2030 — here are 3 stocks to pounce on

Posted By: EN Todayon: August 01, 2023In: General Energy News

The definition of “Bidenomics” recently expanded to include a new concept: universal internet access.

In late June, President Joe Biden announced a new program that would deploy $42 billion to get “every person in America” online by 2030.

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In his remarks at a White House briefing announcing the program, Biden called access to the internet “just as important as electricity or water.”

The funds will be deployed under the Broadband Equity Access and Deployment (BEAD) program, which was authorized by the Biden administration’s $1 trillion 2021 infrastructure package. Funding will go to all 50 states, with the two most populous states, California and Texas, receiving the largest sums. States with large rural areas that lack connectivity (such as Virginia, Alabama and Louisiana) are also among those set to receive top-level funding.

“It’s the biggest investment in high-speed internet ever,” Biden said.

Here are three top stocks that could see growth behind this new push for universal internet access.

Comcast

With 31.7 million subscribers, Comcast is already the largest cable broadband provider in the U.S. That puts it in a strong position to benefit from the Biden administration’s recent push for universal internet access.

Comcast has already benefited from the 2021 Affordable Connectivity Program, a $14-billion federal fund that has provided over 19 million households with a monthly subsidy of $30 or more to help cover broadband bills. Comcast, whose Xfinity cable and internet service is dominant nationwide, was one of the main beneficiaries.

Comcast stock is up 27% year to date.

AT&T

AT&T is another company that could benefit from the Biden administration’s push for internet access.

The company already operates the nation’s largest network of fiber-optic cables. These cables are hooked up to 19.7 million consumer addresses, 750,000 corporate buildings and more than 3 million business customer locations across 100 U.S. metro areas.

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Maintaining this network is expensive — let alone expanding it — and government subsidies could ease the burden. During the White House press conference, Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo specifically mentioned that part of the newly announced BEAD grant would be earmarked for “manufacturing fiber-optic cable in America.”

AT&T stock is down 22% year to date, giving contrarian investors something to think about.

Charter Communications

With 28.9 million wired broadband customers, Charter Communications is the second-largest wired internet provider in America.

Like Comcast, the company saw a windfall of government-backed income thanks to the Affordable Connectivity Program, and it remains in a strong position to capitalize on the new BEAD program. Meanwhile, the company is already investing over $5.5 billion to supercharge speeds across its network over the next few years.

“We are targeting that over 85% of our footprint will be capable of an up to 5 gigabits per second service by end of year 2025,” Charter President of Product and Technology Richard DiGeronimo said during an investor presentation in late 2022.

Charter stock trades at a price-to-earnings ratio of 13 and the stock price is up 19% year to date.