Closing the Digital Divide in Rural America

The hard truth is there is a digital divide that particularly impacts rural America. Americans living in urban areas are three times more likely to have access to Next Generation broadband than Americans in rural areas. An estimated 15 million Americans, primarily in rural communities, don’t even have access to entry-level broadband in their homes. Forty-one percent of American’s rural schools couldn’t get a high-speed connection if they tried. The FCC can play an important role in bridging these gaps, and I’m circulating two items that will expand access to robust broadband across rural America.

One proposal would close the digital divide in rural schools and libraries by modernizing the FCC’s E-rate program. My proposal includes targeted updates to E-rate rules to help defray the high costs rural libraries and schools face in achieving high-speed Internet connectivity, particularly the one-time infrastructure upgrade costs that many simply can’t afford today. For many low-income schools and libraries the challenge is one of affordability, so my proposal also includes rule changes designed to increase the number of competitive options to these schools and libraries to ensure they have access to the most cost-effective solutions.

I am also circulating an Order to move the Connect America Fund forward to get communities the connectivity they need to stay competitive in the digital world. My proposal would bring the minimum broadband speed for receiving USF support to 10 Mbps for downloads, from 4 Mbps – the first adjustment since 2011. We need to make sure rural consumers have the service they need to support modern applications and uses as we expand networks to the 15 million unserved rural Americans. And it’s time to move forward to implement Phase II of the Connect America Fund.


Closing the Digital Divide in Rural America