President Trump Plants Seeds Of Rural Revival With Broadband

President Donald Trump is expected to thank America's farmers for their political support on Jan 8 and to unveil a plan designed to help revive fortunes in struggling rural areas. "While other sectors of the American economy have largely recovered from the Great Recession, rural America has lagged in almost every indicator," according to the president's new task force report. The task force makes a number of recommendations, beginning with improved broadband service. According to the Federal Communications Commission, 39 percent of rural Americans lack access to high-speed Internet service, compared to just 4 percent of people in cities. Private companies often find it unprofitable to extend costly broadband service to lightly populated parts of the country. The federal government hopes to encourage that investment by streamlining the permit process and allowing antennas to be mounted on government towers. Similar suggestions were made during the Obama administration.