Fred Johnson, CEO of Farmers Telecommunications Cooperative, Inc. (Rainsville, Ala.), and Roger Nishi, vice president of industry relations at Waitsfield and Champlain Valley Telecom (Waitsfield, Vt.), today testified before the Subcommittee on Rural Development and Energy of the U.S. Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry on Congress’ commitment to broadband deployment. They also addressed the importance of future-proof networks and federal coordination of grant funds to avoid overbuilding and reiterated that the 2023 Farm Bill reauthorization should focus on those hardest to reach and connect.
In the hearing, “Rural Broadband: Connecting Our Communities to the Digital Economy,” Nishi highlighted why “Congress must ensure that networks, built with precious and limited federal funds, are scalable and stand ready to meet the needs of users today and well into the future.
“Even as certain networks may seem cheaper to deploy initially, it would be a mistake for Congress to think only of what can meet the needs of today,” Nishi said. “These are investments being made to serve communities for decades, and we should expect and demand that the networks demonstrate a capability to do so given the use of federal funds to deploy them.”
Johnson also emphasized that each community is unique and that “the successful deployment of broadband in rural America is not a singular model of identical blocks. It is a tapestry involving the efforts of diverse existing and would-be providers.” Additionally, he said Congress should maintain its focus on those without adequate service today.
“Take note of lessons learned by successful providers,” Johnson said. “It will all go a long way to keeping rural Americans fully connected to our world.”
Christa Shute, executive director of NEK Broadband (St. Johnsbury, Vt.), a partner with WCVT in several broadband projects in Vermont and a general broadband provider member of NTCA, also testified at today’s hearing.
Written testimonies can be viewed on the committee’s website.