Farm Bureau Changes Are Needed To Ensure Rural America Gets Broadband Access

Last week, the president of the Mississippi Farm Bureau told lawmakers in Washington D.C. that changes are needed to the mapping process that determines federal broadband funding.  During a Senate hearing, Mississippi farmer Mike McCormick, told the committee that FCC maps that determine broadband funding are flawed.

“We don’t think that they are correct for sure. In the state of Mississippi, we’ve challenged the FCC’s maps and found that it was almost impossible to work through that challenge process. Something has to be done with that to be able to prove that we’re not almost fully covered in the state of Mississippi like FCC is saying.”

McCormick added the maps need to reflect current coverage, not intended future coverage.

“It starts with their 477 form which clearly asks a question about intent on service areas and one of the questions centers around could an ISP cover that area, and if that’s marked yes, then that part of the state is considered covered. I think we need to move away from the intent part of it and look strictly at what is covered today.”

McCormick added the FCC needs to use more granular data and include farmland and ranch land.  If there is no change in how the FCC assesses broadband needs, McCormick says rural areas will continue to suffer.

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