Students are still struggling to get internet. The infrastructure bill could help

Internet access has always been a problem for Faylene Begay, a single mother of four living in Tuba City, Arizona.

Before the pandemic, she didn’t have an internet connection at her home on the Navajo Nation Reservation — all she had was an old phone with limited data. Back then, her lack of connection was a nuisance as she worked her way through classes at Diné College.

But when her college campus closed in spring 2020, internet access became a major challenge: She could complete all of her assignments, but uploading them required a strong internet connection, which she didn’t have.