CED Magazine

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.

Frontier Communications reported it has an aspirational goal of 200,000 new broadband adoptions among low-income households in California over the next two years. As part of that, the company says it is awarding $3 million in grants to community-based organizations that work toward closing the state’s digital divide. Frontier also is donating 50,000 laptops that’ll be distributed by those organizations to participating low-income households.

“Frontier’s public benefits contributions to California are exemplary of the way companies can help close the digital divide and provide to all residents the 21st Century civil right of high-speed Internet access,” says Sunne Wright McPeak, president and CEO of the California Emerging Technology Fund. California Public Utilities Commission Commissioner Catherine J.K. Sandoval stresses that affordable high-speed Internet is “an economic and social imperative." "I applaud the efforts by Frontier and CETF to work with local agencies to take real steps to increase access to affordable Internet service and help Californians narrow the digital divide," Sandoval adds. Frontier Affordable Broadband for qualified low-income households offers speeds up to 7 Mbps/1 Mbps for $13.99 per month. The service is available in a package with landline telephone to customers who qualify for the California LifeLine program.