Agricultural News
OSU's Brian Whitacre Says House Bill 3363 Will Help With Broadband Connectivity
Tue, 01 Mar 2022 09:01:38 CST
If there's one thing the Covid 19 Pandemic has taught us, broadband access is no longer a matter of convenience and entertainment but the overall quality of life.
Last week House Republicans announced House Bill 3363, legislation to bring high-speed internet to 95% of Oklahomans in five years. "A dedicated office is needed to maximize their benefit for all Oklahomans," said House Speaker Charles McCall, R-Atoka. "House Republicans support broadband expansion because it is critical infrastructure that creates jobs and is as essential as phones or roads to modern life."
Brian Whitacre, extension specialist for Rural Economic Development at Oklahoma State University, spoke with KC Sheperd, associate director for Radio Oklahoma Ag Network, about the latest internet situation in Oklahoma. He's very excited about the possibility of a dedicated office for broadband expansion, "This is going to set up a state broadband office for Oklahoma. We don't have one right now."
Currently, Whitacre said around 30 other states have set up a rural broadband office, which would help allocate grants and get better rural broadband connectivity, "At this point, we are looking at between 3 and 7 employees who can help with the mapping process, and grants."
Whitacre said State legislators are pushing to a quick resolution to this measure because we do have some money from ARPA ( American Rescue Plan Act) to begin the process, "That was one sticking point in the past, that we didn't have the money to set this up, but now we do, so we are hopeful that will get underway quick."
Whitacre said they will be focused on not only getting the infrastructure in place but also help people productively use it, "We hear a lot about digital literacy training, digital inclusion efforts, so that will be an important job for this office too."
So Far, Oklahoma doesn't rank very high when it comes to rural Broadband with only 73%, which is about 10% behind the national average, "That's why we've been pushing for this broadband office, to see some better maps to show the needs, the connections, and the best way to get those connections out there." However, Whitacre said the trend has been going up past few years due to some of these USDA grants and companies like Hilliary communications.
Whitacre said when it comes to having good, reliable broadband service, the need is strong, "it's important for a whole host of factors, health, income opportunity, entrepreneurship. So it absolutely matters that we are getting a good chunk of our population to have good, fast, broadband access."
Whitacre reminds producers of the Affordability connectivity program, which gives eligible households $75 a month to pay for their broadband connection. To see if you qualify for this benefit, or to apply, click here or call the ACP Support Center at (877) 384-2575.
As part of the Infrastructure Investment and jobs act, Oklahoma will be receiving 100 million to use for rural Broadband, but Whitacre says we haven't seen that money just yet. Still, we will probably see more than that since Oklahoma is behind on Broadband, "We expect a lot more after they do the final allocation. We don't fare very well on that, so we will expect a lot more money." Whitacre says we probably won't see much of that money until the end of 2022, but the state has received other funds, "The good news is that we have received some money from the American rescue act to build our own state map for broadband, which we are currently working on."
Whitacre says he's excited and optimistic about all the upcoming rural broadband possibilities the state has now and going forward.
To hear KC's complete conversation about Rural Broadband with Brian Whitacre, click or tap below.
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