Rural-broadband efforts accelerate

The Rebuild Rural Coalition in late January asked for President Joe Biden’s support in rebuilding rural America’s infrastructure. In a letter to Biden the coalition cited needed improvements in roads, bridges, locks and dams. But it also cited rural-broadband access as greatly needing improvement. The coalition of 250 groups acknowledged that federal resources alone can’t solve the country’s infrastructure problems.

“Creative solutions that pair federal investment with state-local-government investment and private sources of capital hold promise for raising a portion of the funds necessary to do the job for some of these infrastructure priorities,” the coalition wrote. “We urge you to ensure rural people have a voice in infrastructure priorities …”

Brittany Beyer serves as chairperson of the Governor’s Task Force on Broadband Access in Wisconsin. She echoes the Rebuild Rural Coalition’s call for creative solutions that combine federal, state and local investments. Communities, internet-service providers and philanthropies need to partner to improve broadband access, affordability and adoption, she said.

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