rural broadband NPR Digital Services RSS Generator 0.94 NPR Digital Services RSS Generator 0.94 rural broadband Fri, 17 Sep 2021 21:10:51 +0000 https://www.harvestpublicmedia.org Seth Bodine More power lines could move underground as part of an effort included in the infrastructure bill to update the nation’s energy system, but rural energy providers still worry about the cost of installation and maintenance. The $1 trillion infrastructure bill, which passed the Senate in August, includes $73 billion to modernize the electric grid. U.S. Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm says moving power lines underground, a practice called “undergrounding,” may be part of that effort. She says this would protect consumers from blackouts caused by severe weather. Countries like Germany and the Netherlands are already moving their power lines underground, and Granholm says that’s something the U.S. should invest in too. “In other countries, there's a lot of effort of undergrounding distribution and transmission wires, where you can put soil over the top and just farm on top of it and have the farmer compensated for this line that goes underneath the ground that you can't even see,” https://www.harvestpublicmedia.org/post/efforts-shore-electrical-grid-could-mean-moving-power-lines-underground 1046 as https://www.harvestpublicmedia.org Fri, 17 Sep 2021 20:56:48 +0000 Efforts To Shore Up The Electrical Grid Could Mean Moving Power Lines Underground Seth Bodine The U.S. Department of Agriculture is providing millions of dollars to expand broadband in rural areas, but rural internet providers are facing shortages and long waits for equipment. The USDA is allocating $167 million in grants and loans to broadband providers in Oklahoma, Missouri, Colorado, Georgia, North Dakota, Arizona, Alaska, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Utah and Virginia in the latest round of the ReConnect program. The funds are part of $550 million Congress provided for the program in 2020 and 2021. The Senate sent a $1 trillion infrastructure bill, which includes $65 billion for broadband expansion, to the House this week. Broadband providers already are having a hard time getting equipment. Shirley Bloomfield, the CEO of the National Rural Broadband Association, says providers says that they can’t get 30-40% of the needed equipment to install broadband. This includes fiber, which she says companies are waiting up to 71 weeks to be delivered. “(Fiber manufacturers) are https://www.harvestpublicmedia.org/post/usda-helping-expand-rural-broadband-providers-face-equipment-shortages 1035 as https://www.harvestpublicmedia.org Wed, 11 Aug 2021 20:09:03 +0000 The USDA Is Helping Expand Rural Broadband, But Providers Face Equipment Shortages Seth Bodine Rural areas are often the last to receive broadband. The lack of broadband is similar to another issue that rural communities faced decades ago — rural electrification. About 22% of Americans who live in rural areas that lack broadband, compared to 1.5% of those in cities, according to the Federal Communications Commission. “In rural areas, you can have less than 10 customers for every mile of fiber optics that you have,” says Hamid Vahdatipour, CEO of Lake Region Electric Cooperative. “In town, that number could go as high as 50 or 70 customers per mile, so it is difficult to provide this kind of service for rural America.” Vahdatipour says rural broadband faces the same basic challenge as electricity: for-profit companies don’t want to invest. The federal government fixed that issue by setting up cooperatives to help rural residents pay to install poles and lines. Now the same cooperatives that set up electricity want to add broadband to their list of services. But while the https://www.harvestpublicmedia.org/post/first-electricity-now-internet-rural-areas-struggle-gain-infrastructure 1029 as https://www.harvestpublicmedia.org Thu, 29 Jul 2021 21:46:29 +0000 First Electricity, Now Internet: Rural Areas Struggle To Gain Infrastructure Harvest Public Media Donald Trump won two-thirds of the vote in rural areas in the last two presidential elections — highlighting what some see as a growing divide between rural and urban America. Now, a Washington, D.C., based think tank suggests the Biden administration look to expand broadband internet access in rural areas to help bridge the economic divide. The Brookings Institution’s policy brief, “ Reimaging Rural Policy: Organizing Federal Assistance To Maximize Rural Prosperity, ” proposes a well-funded and streamlined effort to extend broadband access across the country. Most rural areas don’t have such access because private companies do not find them profitable. Tony Pipa, the lead author of the report, said too many people think the way to take care of rural areas is with huge agricultural subsidies. Pipa said that the sector makes up only 6% of employment in rural areas. “Much more of a service economy is becoming important in rural areas. Much more small business and entrepreneurialism. And https://www.harvestpublicmedia.org/post/rural-america-needs-high-speed-internet-more-just-netflix 961 as https://www.harvestpublicmedia.org Fri, 29 Jan 2021 18:09:50 +0000 Rural America Needs High-Speed Internet For More Than Just Netflix Crawling internet speeds in rural Kansas make trying to sell cattle online exasperating. Instead of uploading photos and videos of cattle for sale from home, farmer and cattleman Jay Young drives to his parents’ house or into the town of Tribune in far west Kansas where internet speeds are faster. Young has a broadband connection and says he’s able to create a cattle listing from home, but the slow internet brings on additional work. “I just can’t post the videos to that listing,” he said. “So, what I’ll do is I'll email them or I’ll go into town and, and put the photos on there.” In Kansas, rural internet speeds and spotty mobile phone service generate barriers for business owners like Young, hamstringing their efforts to make a living in an increasingly online world. A recent study by Amazon and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce analyzed how faster internet and better mobile phone reception could help small rural businesses across the country. In Kansas, slow internet and mobile phone https://www.harvestpublicmedia.org/post/how-slow-internet-hurts-rural-areas-starting-cattle-sales 695 as https://www.harvestpublicmedia.org Mon, 08 Apr 2019 13:46:28 +0000 How Slow Internet Hurts Rural Areas, Starting With Cattle Sales Jonathan Ahl Swiss Meat and Sausage has been butchering animals and selling meats in a small, unincorporated east-central Missouri town for 50 years. Co-owner Janice Thomas wants to expand, and to do that, she’ll need more business from out-of-town customers. “If there is one place that has some room, it’s with our online ordering,” she said. The community of Swiss has minimal internet access: It’s not high speed, and it’s unreliable. https://www.harvestpublicmedia.org/post/rural-businesses-need-better-internet-access-expand-solutions-aren-t-so-easy 663 as https://www.harvestpublicmedia.org Mon, 28 Jan 2019 20:21:47 +0000 Rural Businesses Need Better Internet Access To Expand, But Solutions Aren’t So Easy Slow speeds, bad coverage and expensive service: These are just some of the concerns contained in nearly 300 public comments on Rural Broadband Pilot Program proposed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, a review by the Midwest Center for Investigative Reporting found. https://www.harvestpublicmedia.org/post/usdas-rural-broadband-plan-met-citizen-criticism-concerns 624 as https://www.harvestpublicmedia.org Wed, 21 Nov 2018 16:26:51 +0000 USDA's Rural Broadband Plan Met With Citizen Criticism, Concerns Esther Honig A new poll suggests 72 percent of voters, regardless of party affiliation, believe Congress and federal regulators “need to do more” to bring high-speed internet to rural Americans. https://www.harvestpublicmedia.org/post/us-voters-say-government-needs-do-more-rural-broadband-new-poll-finds 592 as https://www.harvestpublicmedia.org Sat, 22 Sep 2018 18:58:32 +0000 U.S. Voters Say Government ‘Needs To Do More’ For Rural Broadband, New Poll Finds