FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
June 26, 2023
CONTACT: [email protected]
One Country Lauds Administration’s Investments to Reach Goals of Universal Broadband by 2030
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, One Country Project (OCP) commended the Biden administration’s historic investments that will help bring broadband service to all Americans by 2030. Internet service has become a necessity for creating rural jobs, attracting and generating new businesses, and accessing markets, education, and health care in the 21st century.
However, rural residents are almost twice as likely as those in urban areas to lack high-speed internet, and only 67 percent of Tribal lands have broadband access. To remedy this, the Department of Commerce is providing $42.45 billion of funding through the Broadband Equity Access and Deployment (BEAD) Program to bridge the digital divide.
“I applaud the administration for prioritizing rural broadband. Rural areas, like those in Mississippi, often lack the resources necessary for affordable and reliable high-speed internet,” said OCP Board member Mike Espy, former Secretary of Agriculture and 2020 candidate for the Mississippi Senate. “These investments in broadband service are critical to connect all Americans, regardless of where they live, and spark new economic opportunities that will enable rural Americans to reap the benefits of the digital age. As an organization dedicated to advancing rural America’s priorities, One Country Project looks forward to working with the administration to guarantee equitable broadband access.”
Through this investment, rural communities will have support in building out infrastructure and sustainable plans to provide broadband in even the most far-flung rural and Tribal lands that have previously been overlooked. The administration’s commitment to providing increased high-speed internet nationwide is critical to ensure rural residents can take advantage of life-saving health care, small businesses can tap into online markets, rural students can receive equitable education, and farmers can utilize innovative agriculture techniques that rely on internet-based analysis.
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About One Country Project
Rural America holds an essential role in moving the United States forward and the One Country Project is dedicated to ensuring Rural America’s priorities and values are heard and reflected in policy at the federal level. To learn more, visit us at www.onecountryproject.com or on Twitter or Facebook.