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We have seen a lot of progress in recent years when it comes to closing the so-called digital divide in rural America, and specifically in the coalfields of southern West Virginia and Southwest Virginia. But there are still areas in our region and across the country where high-speed broadband access is lacking.
But in today’s day and age, modern infrastructure, including water, sewer, high-speed broadband and close access to a four-lane highway or interstate corridor, is critical to future economic development and tourism growth. And many prospective companies and industries will not even consider a region where access to high-speed broadband is still lacking.
Unfortunately, there are still pockets of the region where families lack access to high-speed broadband. And many of those areas can be found right here in the coalfields of southern West Virginia and Southwest Virginia. That’s why ongoing efforts on the local, state and federal level to reach those families in need is an urgent necessity.
Just earlier this week, a bipartisan group of lawmakers, including U.S. Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., U.S. Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., and U.S. Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., made a renewed push for federal officials to prioritize broadband access for rural Americans.
The group of 14 lawmakers are asking Commerce Secretary Penny Pritzker and Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, co-chairs of the Broadband Opportunity Council, for a detailed analysis of the various federal broadband initiatives that can be coordinated across agencies to bridge the digital divide and bring rural America into the 21st century.
“In many places in America, the forces of the free market economy are driving investment in broadband infrastructure and delivering quality networks at competitive prices, but broadband deployment and adoption in rural communities continues to fall behind,” the 14 senators wrote in the letter. “Whereas, fewer than one-in-10 citizens lack access to high speed broadband service in urban areas, it is the sad reality for a majority of rural Americans — 33 million people — whose innovative ideas cannot compete on a level playing field in a global economy.”
The letter was signed by Manchin, Capito, Warner, U.S. Steve Daines, R-Mont., U.S. Sen. Angus King, I-Maine, U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore.; U.S. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash.; U.S. Heidi Heitkamp, D-N.D.; U.S. Sen. Cory Gardner, R-Colo.; U.S. Sen. Dan Sullivan, R-Ark.; U.S. Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash.; U.S. Tom Udall, D-N.M.; and U.S. Sen. Jon Tester, D-Mont.
We urge all lawmakers, including those on the federal, state and local levels, to work toward closing the digital divide. As long as there are families and communities that still need public drinking water, modern sewage treatment systems and high-speed broadband, the fight for modern infrastructure must continue.