Agri-Pulse Open Mic: Shirley Bloomfield

Arlington, Va. (April 10, 2016)—This week’s guest on Agri-Pulse's Open Mic is Shirley Bloomfield, chief executive officer of NTCA–The Rural Broadband Association. The FCC followed last year’s designation of broadband as a utility with additional support for internet service providers to bring communications to a larger section of rural America. In this week’s interview, Bloomfield discusses the complicated decisions involved with providing greater broadband access to farmers, rural businesses, schools, hospitals and more. But big questions remain on who supports those new revenue streams and if funding caps will allow companies to maintain affordable service for rural residents.