State Caucus Looks At Rural Broadband Needs

 
Nashville, Tenn.–The Tennessee Rural Caucus met for its third session to discuss issues that need to be prioritized for the new legislative session that begins next month.
The caucus was formed earlier this year by State Rep. Bruce Griffey, R-Paris. He said some 20 members of the General Assembly representing rural districts attended the meeting and the primary topic was rural broadband access.
“Broadband access is a critical component to economic development  and rural communities have been left behind with respect to the availability and benefits of this technology,” Griffey said.  “There is clearly a rural-urban broadband ‘digital divide’ that is negatively impacting rural development.  Broadband service positively impacts education, healthcare, entrepreneurship and employment, among other things.  In fact, research studies in other areas of the country have reflected that rural areas with broadband accessibility tend to have higher levels of education and income, greater business development and relatively low unemployment and poverty rates.  There is a correlation between broadband accessibility and economic development and growth.  This is why the Rural Caucus chose to make rural broadband access a topic of focus.”
At the meeting, there was a discussion of different methods by which broadband is being provided to certain rural areas currently such as municipal utility companies providing fiber to the home for their electric customers.
Griffey said another concern discussed by the members is the delay in getting rural broadband to everyone, particularly those in the most rural parts of counties across the state.  The difficulty is that providers continue to target those areas with the greatest concentration of customers.
“The TN Rural Caucus members wanted to learn what efforts are being made to get broadband accessibility to all of the rural customers, and discussed possible legislation that could put conditions on grant funding from the state to ensure broadband access gets to every rural customer,”  he said.
Photo: Rep. Griffey at the rural caucus session.