internet

Expanding high speed Internet access to rural areas is getting top level attention in Washington, DC.  At a recent committee hearing, Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross said rural broadband is a top priority.  Aside from the President's Infrastructure plan, which still needs congressional approval, there are several grant and loan programs for rural broadband expansion.   ...

In an effort to help rural Washingtonians compete in the 21st century, state Representative Mary Dye has introduced legislation that she says will encourage the construction of fibers statewide.  The Pomeroy Republican told the Washington Ag Network lawmakers need to keep in mind, more and more employees are looking to work partially or completely from home, which allows rural opportunity the chan

A group of community leaders, rural advocates, and industry innovators have come together to form “Connect Americans Now.”  Their goal is to work with the Federal Communications Commission and other policymakers to ensure that there is sufficient unlicensed broadband access in every market in the country.  The end-goal is unl...

The USDA’s latest look at rural American broadband shows that it’s growing significantly in the past 15 years.   John Cromartie with the Economic Research Service said, “There’s been a very large increase in the use of broadband since 2001 In rural areas it went up from two to 61 percent between 2001 and 2016.”   Subscription service ha...

A bipartisan group of senators is urging the FCC to ensure access to affordable broadband in rural communities.  Led by Senate Agriculture Chairman Pat Roberts, the group penned a letter Wednesday asking the FCC to “ensure its commitment to affordable and reliable broadband for consumers in the hardest to reach communities across rural America.”  The senators...

It’s hard to envision a future of agriculture that doesn’t heavily involve advanced technology and data for farmers both big and small.   Nick Tindall of the Association of Equipment Manufacturers said there are now 6-10 onboard computers with more computer code than the space shuttle on farm machinery.   “We exp...

Farmers in Washington and Oregon that own or have access to a computer has remained steady since 2015 according to a recent USDA report, but the number of farmers using them for farm business has increased in the past four years.   The number of producers in the Northwest using cable internet has really jumped, from five to 18 percent in Washington and six to 20 percent in Oregon though most produ

The FCC and the Senate are taking specific steps to bring more broadband access into underserved rural areas.  The FCC is moving forward on plans for something called a “reverse auction” next year, which would provide nearly $2 billion over the next ten years to expand high-speed access in rural areas that don’t have a fixed broadband service.   The commissio...

Not only is there a push to expand rural broadband internet access, but there are many who want to make sure that the speeds and quality of those connections are adequate to meet the needs of the farming community.   Jennifer Otwell, manager in the communications industry in Texas, said speed is king, and there’s just not enough of it in rural areas, even if those farmers are getting “broadband.”

On the way to Iowa this week, Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue told a White House press pool that broadband internet has become infrastructure of necessity in rural areas.  His comments came as President Trump toured agriculture education facilities in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, to learn more about agriculture technology, and to pledge a focus on rural broadband in his infrastructure plan.  ... Read Mo