Broadband plan concerns South Dakota officials, rural telecom providers

Some state regulators and rural Internet providers worry that the National Broadband Plan is going to leave people living in rural areas behind even as it ushers urban residents into a world of affordable, lightning-fast Internet access.

“The National Broadband Plan that’s been released by the Federal Communications Commission, while well-intended, contains a lot of bad news for South Dakota,” said Dusty Johnson, an outgoing Republican commissioner on the South Dakota Public Utilities Commission. The National Broadband Plan has three general goals – that all Americans should have access to high-speed Internet, that all should be able to afford it and that all should be able to acquire the skills to take advantage of it. The plan to expand digital literacy draws nothing but praise from broadband companies and public officials. It’s the other two goals that worries people like Public Utilities Chairman Steve Kolbeck, outgoing Gov. Mike Rounds and GoldenWest Telecommunications chief executive Denny Law. As a whole, nearly two-thirds of Americans use broadband Internet at home. That number, however, is significantly lower in rural areas where only 50 percent use broadband. With limited resources to promote Internet access, which underserved populations should receive the most assistance to expand telecommunications access and affordability?

The National Broadband Plan would create a new fund, the Connect America Fund. Its goal would be to support Internet service with speeds of at least 4 megabits per second – with no regard for the location of the user. And under the plan, the Connect America Fund would receive up to $15 billion from the Universal Service Fund to accomplish its goal. The fear of rural advocates is that the Connect America Fund would focus on impoverished urban areas, where high population density makes it possible to get more bang for the buck – leaving rural areas with a financial shortfall.