Wisconsin Ag Connection - Baldwin, Johnson Urge FCC to Expand Rural Broadband Access

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Baldwin, Johnson Urge FCC to Expand Rural Broadband Access
Wisconsin Ag Connection - 07/13/2016

Wisconsin's two U.S. senators are asking the Federal Communications Commission to expand mobile broadband coverage in rural areas. Republican Ron Johnson and Democrat Tammy Baldwin are among 26 senators to sign onto a letter encouraging the FCC to use its Mobility Fund to develop and improve mobile broadband service in underserved rural and agricultural areas.

The fund is part of the FCC's Universal Service Fund, collected essentially as a user fee on phone bills. It was designed to help wireless carriers cover the cost of bring service to rural areas.

"Mobility is essential for new precision agriculture technologies to deliver productivity gains and environmental sustainability," the letter stated. "The expansion of rural broadband should be a top priority of federal and state policymakers, as expanded deployment in rural areas will address important economic, educational, health care and public safety goals."

The lawmakers say progress has been made in expanding broadband access, but more is needed to be done in order to bring rural users close to parity with users in more populated areas.

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