During the presidential campaign, candidate Joe Biden was mostly silent about so-called Big Tech.

When Biden becomes the next U.S. president on January 20, Silicon Valley will be watching to see how the new administration approaches tech issues.

How might the relationship between Washington and Silicon Valley unfold?

Linda Moore, president and chief executive of TechNet, a bipartisan network of technology firm CEOs and executives, said that with a new administration, there is typically an opportunity to educate officials on the tech industry.   

But with the Biden administration, “we will have people who are very knowledgeable and have deep experience on these issues and have well-thought-out views on them,” she said.

Most likely, the first thing on Biden’s tech agenda will dovetail with his economic policy: a massive increase in federal broadband spending to get more Americans online, particularly in rural communities. The president-elect is reportedly in talks with Democratic leaders on a broadband bill.

The need is urgent, said Gigi Sohn, a distinguished fellow at Georgetown Law Institute for Technology, Law & Policy and a former senior official with President Barack Obama’s Federal Communications Commission.

“In rural America, there is not even a network to connect to,” Sohn said.

The new administration should also address “the problem, which is frankly much bigger, of people can’t afford broadband because it’s too expensive,” she said.

More at VOA.