Broadband bill presents opportunity for Oklahoma

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A new bill (HB 3363) would help Oklahoma ensure that federal relief funding to improve connectivity would go where it’s needed most. With no State Broadband Office, no broadband map, and no experience distributing state-funded broadband grants, Oklahoma has been behind the curve in establishing administrative infrastructure to increase access to broadband. Fortunately, federal American Rescue Plan Act funds can be directed toward that key infrastructure. Oklahoma has already set aside $2 million to build a broadband map that will highlight the areas lacking broadband availability at different speed thresholds. The map will include geocoded data for households, agricultural, and business structures, and the state will work with local providers and third-party speed tests to ensure that the map captures real-time, “on-the-ground” broadband availability. HB 3363 would deliver on the second piece of critical infrastructure needed to ensure broadband access. HB 3363 would create an Oklahoma Broadband Office with the goal of delivering broadband access to 95 percent of Oklahomans in five years. The office would include several full-time employees who would oversee crucial aspects related to improving broadband availability and adoption. HB 3363 is an excellent first step, but Oklahoma should think bigger than the short-term on broadband because getting the infrastructure in place is only the first step. It is the adoption and effective use of broadband, not simple availability, that leads to improved economic outcomes. 

[Brian Whitacre is Professor and Neustadt Chair in the Department of Agricultural Economics at Oklahoma State University. He serves on the state’s Rural Broadband Expansion Council.]


Broadband bill presents opportunity for Oklahoma