USDA's Perdue Wants National Strategy on Rural Broadband; Pai Welcomes Coordination
The U.S. needs a "national strategy" to advance rural broadband and "e-connectivity," said Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue Wednesday at a department event organized by a rural stakeholder coalition. He said USDA loves to be a "convener" and wants to work with the FCC, the Department of Commerce and others to help expand and sustain rural broadband networks. "I don't think the awareness has ever been stronger" about the need and opportunities, he said. "I get excited" thinking about rural connectivity and its potential to usher in "transformative" gains in telemedicine, distance learning, precision agriculture and digital commerce, he added. "Now's the time. Let's get it done."
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FCC Chairman Ajit Pai looks forward to continuing to coordinate with USDA, other government entities and private parties on closing the digital divide. He cited FCC efforts to spur broadband by updating USF support mechanisms and removing regulatory barriers to network investment. "Some say we can't afford to bring high-speed connectivity to places like rural Kansas. I say we can't afford not to," he said. His speech closely tracked written remarks.
Others agreed broadband expansion is crucial to rural America. Some said rural residents often go to McDonald's to get a good wireless connection, and others said their communities are so small they don't even have a McDonald's. "High cost is the single biggest obstacle," said Mel Coleman, CEO of North Arkansas Electric Cooperative. Speakers said government support and public and private partnerships are key. "Get to know your banker very well and start early," said new Rural Utilities Service Administrator Ken Johnson, in his third day on the job.
The private sector is ready to step forward," said Constance Cullman, CEO of the Farm Foundation. It's part of the coalition that includes NTCA, the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association, CoBank and the National Rural Utilities Cooperative Finance Corp. "It will be a complex partnership of public and private entities, innovative business arrangements, and dedication by farmers, rural residents, and local communities to achieve success," said Farm Foundation Chairman Joe Swedberg. NTCA CEO Shirley Bloomfield cited a "rural/rural" divide between high-cost areas served by smaller carriers focused on their communities and areas served by larger carriers that can't make a business case for serving some locations.
Pai said he has seen the internet's power to "conquer distances" and "extend digital opportunity," in visiting almost two dozen states and logging over 5,000 miles on road trips since becoming chairman. He said more than 24 million Americans still lack access to 25/3 Mbps fixed services, with 30 percent of rural households lacking "high-speed broadband" availability compared with 2 percent in urban areas.
Pai highlighted the upcoming Connect America Fund Phase II auction of $2 billion in subsidies for fixed services and the Mobility Fund II auction of $4.5 billion in subsidies, and a recent order providing over $500 million in new support to rate-of-return telcos. He said the FCC is "working hard to modernize its regulations" to increase incentives for private sector deployment. He cited efforts to facilitate pole attachments, the copper-to-fiber network shift, 5G small-cell deployment and low earth orbit satellite service: "Bureaucratic red tape at all levels of government can slow the pace and increase the cost of network deployment. The FCC has been promoting ways to make deploying wired and wireless broadband infrastructure faster and cheaper."
The event was first in a series, with "listening sessions" planned for the next six months, starting with one in June in Minnesota, said a coalition release. "This is just a beginning of one of the many conversations that need to take place if we are to move forward with improvements to broadband services," Swedberg said.