Internet/Broadband

When Winterset (IA) Community Schools launched its one-to-one device program, staff celebrated the milestone. But then parents and students began to complain that they didn’t have sufficient Wi-Fi at home to access the online assignments students were expected to complete after school hours. They had Chromebooks, but no connection.“And we said, ‘That’s not acceptable here. We’ve got to figure out a way to fix that,’” said Susie Meade, the superintendent of Winterset Community Schools.

Nearly two years have passed since the Federal Communications Commission reported on whether broadband customers are getting the Internet speeds they pay for. In 2011, the Obama-era FCC began measuring broadband speeds in nearly 7,000 consumer homes as part of the then-new Measuring Broadband America program. Each year from 2011 to 2016, the FCC released an annual report comparing the actual speeds customers received to the advertised speeds customers were promised by Comcast, Time Warner Cable, Verizon, AT&T, and other large Internet service providers (ISPs).

The Knight Foundation has announced a $1 million investment in that effort for a project called the Civic Tech Experience, which includes a series of programs for the West Charlotte community aimed at helping families there build better digital skills, as well as get access to technology. Other functions of the Civic Tech Experience also include connections to economic resources and chances for community engagement.

We introduced bipartisan legislation to encourage investment in high-speed internet and protect and expand access to broadband in our rural communities. The Access to Capital Creates Economic Strength and Supports (ACCESS) Rural America Act would provide regulatory relief to rural telecommunications service providers by allowing them to submit streamlined financial reports to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). These small companies—many of which are the sole service providers in their region—could be put out of business by looming regulatory costs.

Why is broadband access in North Dakota as good as it is? First, the federal government helped. The US Department of Commerce's Broadband Technology Opportunities Program (BTOP) invested significantly in North Dakota’s broadband infrastructure.

The United States Department of Agriculture's Rural Utilities Service is accepting applications for fiscal year (FY) 2019 for the Rural Broadband Access Loans and Loan Guarantees Program. RUS is accepting applications on a rolling basis throughout FY 2019. This will give RUS the ability to request additional information and modifications to a submitted application whenever necessary. Applications will be processed on a first come, first served basis.

Recent tax code changes might prevent co-ops from connecting more rural communities. Cooperatives could potentially lose their tax exempt status if they accept government grants for broadband expansion and disaster recovery — an unintended yet foreseeable consequence of the Republican “Tax Cuts and Jobs Act” passed late in 2017.