Perdue Promotes the Importance Of Expanding Broadband

US Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue believes making broadband available to all rural areas could be one of the most important things that can happen in the 21st Century.

"Not only precision Ag, but really from the education aspect, entrepreneurial and e-commerce aspect...health care aspect," Perdue said

He stressed also that times are changing on the farm and in the home.

"You've got grandkids and they go to town and they play on their cousin's X-Boxes and all those kinds of things and they come back home and they're watching the antennae here only getting three channels...that's just not gonna work any longer"

An inter-agency task force, headed by USDA, featured rural broadband prominently in a report that was presented recently to President Trump.  Another issue will be coordinating rural broadband efforts between Federal, State and local governments, ass well as with the private sector.