Colorado Governor Joins the Battle to Bring Better Broadband to Rural America

There is movement at the state level to champion rural communities’ access to high-speed data infrastructure. One of the latest ideas came via Colorado Gov John Hickenlooper's (D-CO) State of the State address in which he said he is creating an office dedicated to getting high-speed internet to all of the state by 2020. Calling fiber “today's power lines for farmers, ranchers, and rural small businesses," he observes that current rural internet service is a drain on the rural economy as well as a drag on education and healthcare. In other words, without broadband, businesses have limited growth potential, rural schools are at a disadvantage, and clinics cannot offer the same care that major metros can with their solid access to broadband.