In his dissenting statement, Federal Communications Commissioner Geoffrey Starks objected to a sentence included since the initial draft of the Rural Digital Opportunity Fund Order. The Starks dissent states: “The version of the Order now before us excludes from RDOF any area that the Commission ‘know[s] to be awarded funding through the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s ReConnect Program or other similar federal or state broadband subsidy programs, or those subject to enforceable broadband deployment obligations.’” (emphasis in original)

The following can be attributed to Harold Feld, Senior Vice President at Public Knowledge: “Read broadly, this surprise last-minute change impacts almost every state in the Union. Nearly every state either has its own broadband subsidy program, receives funds under the Department of Agriculture ReConnect program, or receives other federal funding for broadband. Even read narrowly, this would appear to cut off millions of unconnected rural Americans from a program designed explicitly to help them. According to a PEW Report published in December 2019, 35 states have funds that directly subsidize broadband. Numerous other states have funds that might qualify as a ‘subsidy’ or ‘enforceable broadband deployment obligations,’ depending on how the FCC Order defines these terms Hopefully, publication of the Order will contain some sort of clarification. But even read as narrowly as possible, this change makes no sense. Connecting all of America will require the combined effort of every level of government — federal, state, and local. We should encourage states to take initiative and reward those that rise to the challenge. At least, we should not punish states by making them depend exclusively on underfunded federal programs doled out from Washington, D.C.”

The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) has invested $55.3 million in four, high-speed broadband infrastructure projects in rural Kentucky. These projects will create or improve rural e-Connectivity for more than 12,250 rural households and nearly 100 farms and businesses across Kentucky and northern Tennessee. USDA announced the following investments in rural Kentucky:

• Ballard Rural Telephone Cooperative Corporation will use a $2.4 million ReConnect Program grant to deploy a fiber-to-the-premises (FTTP) network in rural McCracken County. The funded service areas include 578 households and a critical community facility spread over 20 square miles.
• Duo County Telephone Cooperative Corporation Inc. will use an $18.7 million ReConnect Program grant to deploy a fiber-to-the-premises network in rural Adair, Cumberland and Russell counties. The funded service areas include almost 3,650 households spread over 45 square miles.
• Gibson Electric Membership Corporation will use a $32 million ReConnect Program loan to deploy an FTTP network in rural Fulton, Graves and Hickman counties (KY) and in Dyer, Lake, Obion and Weakley counties (TN). The funded service areas include almost 7,400 households spread over 1,056 square miles.
• Thacker-Grigsby Telephone Company Inc. will use a $2.3 million ReConnect Program grant to deploy an FTTP network in rural Breathitt County. The funded service area includes 637 households spread over 109 square miles.

The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) has invested $2.4 million in a high-speed broadband infrastructure project that will create or improve e-Connectivity for approximately 250 households and home-based businesses in rural Mason County (WA). Mason Public Utility District 3, based in Shelton (WA), will use a $2.4 million ReConnect Program grant to provide high-speed broadband to the unserved Grapeview community. The Three Fingers Rural Broadband Fiber Project will provide middle-mile and last-mile fiber-optic service to each premises located within the targeted area.

In my role as House Communications Subcommittee Ranking Member, addressing the “digital divide” has been one of my top priorities. In order to address areas that have unreliable broadband, we need to accurately know where those locations are. The current maps used to allocate resources are woefully inaccurate and result in overbuilding in some areas while other areas remain unserved or underserved. As we aim to utilize spectrum more efficiently, leading to the repurposing and sale of valuable airwaves, we should be using at least some of this revenue to close the technology gap that exists between rural and urban areas.

Having high-tech operations and capabilities in our rural areas is worth the investment if they can access reliable broadband. If they don’t, farmers won’t invest in connected equipment and devices. Last Congress, I authored the Precision Agriculture Connectivity Act, which was signed into law by President Donald Trump as part of the Farm Bill. This law created a task force bringing the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) together to help farmers access high-speed broadband and precision agriculture technology.

It’s time to truly close the gap on America’s “digital divide” because leaving Americans behind as we sprint towards a more connected tomorrow isn’t an option.

[Ranking Member Latta is co-chair of Congressional Rural Broadband Caucus.]

Free Press Action released its 2020 Right to Connect Voter Guide, an analysis of presidential candidates’ positions on vital media and technology policies. It analyzes the positions of nine Democratic and Republican presidential candidates polling at 3 percent or above in recent national polls. Sens Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) stand out for their proposals to invest billions to expand internet access and rein in steep broadband prices that keep low-income families and people of color offline. Sen Sanders has also offered the most concrete ideas to address the crisis in journalism.

Affordability: The price of broadband is too damn high for many people across the country. Among the Democratic candidates, Sen Sanders’ and Sen Warren’s proposals would do the most to address this crucial issue, and Warren highlights how race factors in the digital divide. Former Vice President Joe Biden, former Mayor Pete Buttigieg and Sen Klobuchar have also put forward strong proposals in support of digital equity, albeit with fewer details. And Biden, Sanders and Warren have all taken stands against extortionary prison-phone rates.

Reliable networks: As climate-related disasters worsen, the next president needs to focus on building resilient networks and protecting the communications needs of vulnerable communities. That should start with addressing the government’s neglect of Puerto Rico in the wake of destructive hurricanes and earthquakes. Sen Sanders has taken the strongest stance here, explicitly calling for “a full review of the post-disaster response to the communications crisis in Puerto Rico [to] ensure broadband and telecommunications services are swiftly restored.” His proposal includes plans to invest in equitable and resilient communications networks. Biden, Buttigieg and Warren have rightly focused on recovery in Puerto Rico. The other candidates haven’t said much

Net Neutrality: All of the leading Democratic candidates but two — Joe Biden and Michael Bloomberg — have strongly and publicly endorsed Net Neutrality on the campaign trail. While Biden served as vice president under the Obama administration — whose Federal Communications Commission passed the strong 2015 Net Neutrality rules that the Trump administration gutted — he has thus far made no public statements about this issue. (However, he has held fundraisers with Comcast executives.)

[Craig Aaron is president and co-CEO of Free Press Action. Dana Floberg is a policy manager for Free Press Action.]