Editorial Roundup: Nebraska
Lincoln Journal-Star. July 5, 2023.
Editorial: Broadband funding crucial to future in Nebraska
Nebraska will receive $405.3 million in federal funds to extend broadband internet to areas where it’s not available or too slow.
And Gov. Jim Pillen and Patrick Haggerty, the just-appointed director of the new State Broadband Office, are touring the state Thursday to get input on their plan of how to spend the cash to provide the much-needed service, particularly in many of the state’s most remote rural areas.
The $405.3 million is part of the $42.45 billion Broadband Equity Access and Deployment program contained in President Joe Biden’s Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act of 2021, a measure that passed with rare bipartisan support that included votes in favor of the measure from two of the state’s all Republican congressional delegation, Sen. Deb Fischer and Rep. Don Bacon.
The program is aimed at areas with no internet access or that have access of less than 25 megabits for downloads and 3 Mbps for uploads along with locations having under 100 Mbps down and 20 Mbps up, the speeds required by the federal program.
High-speed internet, Biden said in announcing the nationwide distribution of the funds, is no longer a luxury, but an “absolute necessity” for every American household and business.
“You need affordability and access,” the president said, adding that his administration is working with service providers to bring down costs on what is now a household utility — like water or gas — but often remains priced at a premium.
Reducing costs is particularly important in Nebraska, where costs for internet hookups under a state program have increased five-fold in the last year, a jump that reflects the national premium pricing and the long distances in providing services in sparsely populated areas in the western half of the state.
The state program, we trust, will also aim at reducing costs, be transparent in all its financial dealings and initially address the areas where broadband is most needed and, most importantly, do so as quickly as possible.
For the broadband program and funding is, as Fischer noted, long-needed and critical for Nebraska’s future.
“For far too long, our state has lacked the broadband infrastructure communities need to unlock new economic opportunities and access critical services,” Fischer said. “This once-in-a-generation investment will do much to close the digital divide and provide more Nebraskans with the connectivity they deserve.”