Affordable rural broadband access is still a goal

Internet access is slow or nonexistent in many rural areas of the United States. In spite of the money and time invested in the endeavor, the goal of nationwide broadband remains illusive. "A recent second quarter 2013 State of the Internet survey by Akamai showed the U.S. ranking eighth in the world in average connection speed," Hembree Brandon writes for the Farm Press Blog.

"According to a Rural Business white paper by Carl Johna-Torarp and Mark Coronna, the USDA, through its Rural Utilities Service, had spent $3.4 billion through April 2013, funding 297 rural broadband network projects, which had reached a grand total of 99,424 comsumers and 6,358 business, or $32,075 for each of the 106,000 recipients," Brandon reports. The Senate's version of the Farm Bill calls for more funds for rural broadband, but the House version would stay with the $25 billion yearly budget. 

Rural leaders are looking for ways to provide better broadband access. In Storm Lake, Iowa, rural school districts are struggling to find enough bandwidth for students and staff. According to the 2012 TechNet State Broadband Index, Iowa has the worst ranking for high-speed Internet access when compared with seven nearby states. According to Connect Iowa, a nonprofit that tracks Internet access in the state, 680,000 Iowans don't have broadband Internet access. "John Stineman, executive director of the Heartland Technology Alliance, a regional advocacy group, said the lack of access is a quality-of-life issue that affects economic development and education," Nate Robson reports for the Sioux City Journal. 

Iowa Gov. Terry Brandstad set up a broadband committee in September to strategize methods to improve access; recommendations are due Dec. 2. "I would say it's going to be bigger than bringing electricity to rural America. It's going to be a printing-press moment for mankind," said Howard-Winneshiek Community School Supt. John Carver, a co-chair of Brandstad's committee, told Robson. Turner said children without Internet access are at a disadvantage. "Giving one kid a textbook and not giving one to a second student would not be a good thing. Access to the Internet is the same thing."

Leaders in Kentucky are also facing the issue. "Kentucky's county-centric parochialism, legacy of undervaluing education, and geographic terrain, have presented formidable obstacles in the past, but information and communication technologies offer the potential to overcome these traditional barriers," University of Kentucky Communications Dean Dan O'Hair and researcher Michael Childress write for the Lexington Herald-Leader. while about 82 percent of U.S. households have access to sufficient Internet speeds, only 61 percent of Kentucky homes do. The Kentucky Council on Postsecondary Education has cited the importance of expanding broadband. "High-speed Internet is a necessary, but not sufficient, condition for building and prosperous future in rural Kentucky," O'Hair and Childress write. Other factors include an educated population, adequate investment capital and an abundance of entrepreneurial energy.

Brandon writes for Farm Press, "There are glimmers of hope on the horizon, even for areas of rural states, as private entities, rural cooperatives, and others compete for the prestige factor—and growth—that come with providing super-fast gigabit service." (Read more)