The American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF) recently sent a letter to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) commenting on the national broadband plan that the FCC is required to develop by Feb. 17, 2010. To view press release by AFBF, click here. According to AFBF President Bob Stallman,
“In the 21st century, broadband Internet access is a necessity, not a luxury... To be economically viable, rural communities must have high speed Internet connections for people to access everything from medical records to weather reports to online videos. It is vital for rural residents who want to telecommute to a job in the city and for rural students to complete their class assignments.”The AFBF stressed that farmers needed access to affordable broadband in order keep competitive in the world marketplace.
Click here to view the letter by AFBF. Click here to view story on the Oklahoma Farm Report.
A recent story in USA Today highlights the need for access to broadband in rural America. For story, click here. In February, President Obama signed the economic stimulus package into law, and it provided for $7.2 billion in funding to support broadband development across the US. According to the story,
[b]y pushing hard on broadband, lawmakers hope to close the "digital divide" that has long separated rural America. In doing so, they hope to give rural consumers access to the same sorts of high-speed services and opportunities — think telemedicine, distance-learning and Web-based commerce — that city dwellers have enjoyed for years.... The way President Obama sees it, broadband is the future of the USA. According to non-profit Connected Nation, in Washington, a 7% increase in broadband penetration in underserved parts of the country could stimulate the economy by more than $134 billion. Benefits would accrue from the creation of jobs, commerce and other intangibles — such as fuel savings of non-commuters working from home — that would follow.
According to a third-generation peanut farmer, Jeff Roper of Plains, Texas,
To help run his 2,400-acre farm, he spent $65,000 on equipment for a satellite-based GPS service for his tractors, useful for navigation in the field. Broadband, handy for a variety of diagnostic and operational purposes such as irrigation and real-time weather monitoring, isn't available — so Roper and other farmers in this West Texas community do without.
The story highlights the need for broadband access in rural schools. In Morton Texas, the local school stays open late, till 9 p.m., three nights a week to allow students access to high-speed internet to work on homework and other online projects.
Posted: 06/10/09
