Betsy Huber

To secure a future of prosperity for America’s rural communities, we need to completely bridge the digital divide and ensure every American has access to the digital technologies that support success in our modern world. Substantial positive investments toward achieving the national goal of bridging the digital divide through broadband deployment, financial support for broadband service and digital skills training are included in the bipartisan Infrastructure and Jobs Investment Act recently passed by the US Senate.

[Commentary] When the Federal Communications Commission made its decision two years ago to regulate the internet as a public utility, the harm came to small towns and rural communities almost immediately. Internet companies nationwide slowed or stopped plans to invest in improving and expanding their services due to new legal and compliance costs. For rural America, those regulations presented yet another hurdle to gaining access to modern broadband services that urban areas have enjoyed for years.

Recently, FCC Chairman Ajit Pai announced his plan to correct that mistake. Pai’s plan has sparked an unusual amount of handwringing by some people with misguided ideas on how to ensure the internet economy continues to thrive.

[Betsy Huber is president of National Grange.]