MCGA president testifies to Congress on rural broadband access
As federal lawmakers work to connect rural parts of America to broadband, they should turn to providers who have a proven track record of serving such areas.
They should also focus on helping people with overpriced, substandard service, not just those without broadband connection.
Those were the messages Minnesota Corn Growers Association (MCGA) President Tim Waibel delivered to a Congressional subcommittee Wednesday.
Waibel, who grows corn and soy and raises hogs near Courtland, Minnesota, testified during a hearing of the Subcommittee on Underserved, Agricultural, and Rural Development. The hearing was entitled “Supporting Small Entities through Investments in the National Infrastructure: Broadband.”
Waibel was invited to testify by Republican Rep. Jim Hagedorn, who represents southern Minnesota’s First District and is the ranking member of the subcommittee.
“When we look at rural America, we need to be on a level playing field,” Waibel said. “This is going to set the future growth for our areas and the businesses that will hopefully establish and stay here in these small communities.”
[MORE: View Waibel’s testimony]
According to the USDA, over one-fifth of Americans in rural areas and over one-fourth of Americans in tribal lands lack coverage from adequate broadband service. That is compared to just 1.5% of Americans in urban areas.
Waibel said he is heartened to see bipartisan support on the need to improve broadband access. He encouraged lawmakers to fund broadband efforts through the USDA and rural electric cooperatives.
“Frankly, I do not believe we are going to get a different result if we go down the same old road,” he said.
Waibel also noted how it is critical for farmers to be able to access high-speed internet while working in the field. Additionally, he said that some “overbuilding” of broadband infrastructure might be necessary in order to provide high-quality service to everyone.
As part of his proposed infrastructure plan, President Joe Biden has proposed spending tens of billions of dollars to upgrade broadband nationwide. In Minnesota, lawmakers have agreed to spend $70 million on a grant program to improve high-speed internet infrastructure.
MCGA is a member of the Minnesota Rural Broadband Coalition, which requested $120 million from the state Legislature for the grant program. The coalition says the funds would help the state achieve its statutory broadband speed goal of connecting all Minnesotans with broadband internet speeds of 100 Mbps/20 Mbps by 2026.
Click below to watch the subcommittee hearing.
