A win for rural Missourians lacking broadband access
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) recently announced that $1.5 billion in support will be distributed over the next 10 years to expand rural broadband service in unserved areas. The funding is made available through Phase II of the Connect America Fund (CAF Phase II) auction - one of many efforts the FCC has been doing to close the broadband gap between rural and urban areas. Missouri will receive more than $255 million of the total amount – over 17 percent that was awarded to 45 states combined.
Rep. Long released the following statement after the announcement:
“This will go a long way in helping bridge the digital divide in rural Missouri,” said Rep. Long. “Rural broadband deployment has been a priority of mine and I applaud the FCC for its efforts to fill this digital divide. Broadband access is a critical component for a healthy 21st century rural economy. Like I’ve said before, internet access shouldn't be determined by geography. There is still work to be done and I’ll keep fighting to make rural high-speed broadband access a reality.”
Rural broadband deployment is a very important issue to Rep. Long and he is very familiar with the stifling broadband gap between rural and urban areas. He is on the Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Communications and Technology and one of the main issues they have been working on is ensuring rural access to broadband Internet. Insufficient internet access leaves nearly 23 million Americans without access to telemedicine, streaming video, distance learning, and access to global markets. Unfortunately, broadband infrastructure is particularly lacking in rural areas throughout the country and consumers in these areas are falling behind their urban counterparts in what has been described as the “digital divide.”
Rep. Long doesn’t want to see rural populations in the Ozarks, Missouri, or across America fall behind 21st century demands, and though we need to greatly ramp up America’s rural broadband connectivity pace, we are gaining much-needed momentum. Earlier this year he introduced a bill (H.R. 4817 - the “PEERING Act of 2018”) that would help improve this digital divide is by promoting more Internet Exchanges (IXs or peering centers) across the country. IXs are one of the building blocks around which the Internet is built. Increasing the number of IXs across the country will result in a more resilient, competitive, and interconnected web (especially for households in more rural areas). The economic, healthcare, education and public safety benefits of broadband are endless. He will continue fighting to ensure rural Americans benefit from the best available technologies with scalability for the long term. We must ensure that rural areas have broadband services that reasonably compare to urban access, promote investments in future-ready long-term networks, and enable broadband providers to fairly compete with each other to provide the best networks and services to the most underserved locations.
CAF Phase II auction winners in MO-7:
- Barry Electric Cooperative
- Wisper ISP, Inc
- Total Highspeed LLC