Internet access should be considered utility, greater access improves quality of life, experts say

In Indiana, 12.4% of Hoosiers live in areas where there is no broadband infrastructure that provides minimally acceptable speeds. Where broadband infrastructure is available, broadband may be too expensive, and 16% of Indiana households do not have an internet subscription. Joshua Wells, an informatics professor at Indiana University South Bend, said that the internet “is at a stage where we have to think of it as a vital utility.” 

On April 20, Gov Eric Holcomb (R-IN) signed a law that will direct $250 million to expand broadband access to schools and rural health clinics that don’t have access to 1,000 mbps download speeds. The law also creates a grant program, particularly for Hoosier students, unable to afford high-speed internet access once it is extended to their communities. Indiana State Rep. Ed Soliday (R-Valparaiso) said he drafted the bill to address the greatest need for internet access in the state. The pandemic has shown that students and health clinics need reliable internet access, Rep Soliday said. Rep Soliday, who has worked on broadband legislation in previous sessions, said the challenges of expanding broadband is securing the supply and finding the trained workforce needed for installation. “People don’t realize how expensive and how labor intensive it is,” Rep Soliday said.