Size of internet providers factors into Kansas’ rural broadband divide

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About 95,000 Kansas households have no access to the internet or lack what has been defined as the bare minimum of internet access, said State Rep. Mark Schreiber (R-Emporia ), a member of the Statewide Broadband Expansion Planning Task Force. Fast internet is so crucial to daily life that Kansans are finding creative workarounds, from turning their phones into hotspots to finding someplace nearby where they can access Wi-Fi.  Some schools in rural areas allow students to access their Wi-Fi from the parking lot on evenings and weekends. Businesses such as coffee shops that offer open signals also draw users, whether they’re open or not. The coronavirus has raised the heat on the daunting challenge of too many Kansans being without high-speed internet at home. In the midst of lockdowns that forced people to work from home and students to study remotely, a lack of broadband access became a problem that couldn’t be ignored. “The silver lining of the pandemic is that all of a sudden, people went ‘This is really important, and we want it and need to make it happen,’” said Catherine Moyer, CEO of Pioneer Communications in Ulysses. More state and federal funding has been made available to communities, but it won’t be nearly enough to fully remedy the problem. Furthermore, expansion is intertwined with a host of issues. Should everyone have access to the same basic level of service and pay similar rates? Should areas of the state where it’s more cost-effective to provide service subsidize those areas where it’s not? Should broadband remain a private service provided by businesses, or should it be considered more like electricity, a necessity supplied by utilities that usually have no competition and face heavy government regulation? Do policymakers have the political will to invest the resources when state revenues have been gyrating?


Size of internet providers factors into Kansas’ rural broadband divide