I was reading with interest an opinion piece in the Argus Leader from representatives of DSU about South Dakota becoming a leader in 5G technology.
Their thesis is that South Dakota needs to be on the cusp of emerging technologies, and made the point that “Working with the federal government and private industry, however, S.D. can jump to the front of the pack – turning the apparent disadvantages of its small cities and rural expanses into the advantages that the new technology needs to overcome the barriers that slow its arrival.”
On Monday last week, if you recall, a roundtable discussion took place with Senator John Thune, PUC Commissioner Kristi Fiegen, prominent telecommunication leaders, and government officials towards those very goals. The discussion, hosted by Connect Americans Now (CAN), centered on eliminating the rural broadband gap and the new technology that has been developed to help accomplish this goal.
It is clear from the discussion that took place that broadband connectivity is no longer a simple luxury but a vital necessity for businesses, healthcare, and agriculture. If we want to encourage growth, especially in underserved rural areas which are most at risk for simple attrition reducing the size of those communities, we need to help people in those communities with the simple to do business if we want them to live there.
It’s hard to facilitate growth in a community if they don’t have the ability to sell their wares in a global economy. That’s a basic fact.
As we found many years back now, as when Governor Janklow decided that South Dakota needed to wire our state schools and libraries for electronic communications; with its vast landscape and a large portion of the population in rural areas, South Dakota has another chance to be a leading pioneer – this time in advancing broadband with new, cutting-edge technology.
CAN is a new group striving to bring broadband access to the 23.4 million rural Americans who lack connectivity, Spokesperson John Conradi stated that Microsoft has proposed a three-pronged approach to bridge the divide.
“By using the already developed TV white spaces, LTE coverage, and satellite coverage, we can unleash tremendous potential for the lives and livelihoods of 23.4 million rural Americans who lack a broadband connection,” said Conradi. “But, it is going to take more than private-sector investment to make this goal a reality. Specifically, it will be important for the FCC to ensure that three channels below 700 MHz are available for wireless use on an unlicensed basis in every market in the country, with additional TV white spaces available in smaller markets and rural areas.”
“What is going to drive the future of the economy in this country is broadband,” said Sen. Thune.
Using what we have in resources and technology to turn disadvantages into advantages and showing people how to lead. That’s about as South Dakotan as it comes.
To find out more information on Connect Americans Now’s efforts to eliminate the digital divide, visit their website at: https://connectamericansnow.com.
For more information on Sen. Thune’s stance on bringing broadband to rural South Dakota, visit his website at: https://www.thune.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/?p=search&q=broadband.
South Dakota working “with” the federal government? Bwaaa Ha Ha. South Dakota takes big bucks from Washington and bad mouths the help due to guilt. It’s love/hate. Love the money but hate being a welfare state.
It’s not about money- it’s about the FCC allowing the use of TV frequencies to internet service providers. This is a no-brainer. Open up the unused television frequencies and designate them for wireless broadband- this costs the taxpayer nothing and it is done with a simple rule change by the FCC. The private sector will invest in the technology to make it work if the government allows the frequencies on a permanent basis.
There’s no reason any company should be granted the permanent use of a public resource. Let interested parties bid against each other for a time-limited license.
…and don’t let Ajit Pai murder net neutrality.
Kill it, Mr. Pai. We don’t need the net being a government-held commodity. I know Communism sounds appealing, but that is only to those who believe the government is better at controlling people’s lives than are the people themselves. I for one don’t think the government should have as much control as it already has as they are inefficient, corrupt, and oblivious to competition.
Uh, net neutrality doesn’t mean the government controls the net. It simply means that a data is data, and a packet is a packet. Net neutrality assures that every bit of data, whether it’s a doctor checking a patient or me looking at funny cat pictures, gets treated the same. The governement isn’t controlling anything except to keep the playing field level, and assuring that people have equal access to any content they want, served at the same speed, and unhindered by greedy ISPs looking for a new revenue stream in the face of market saturation.
And if you think government is unresponsive, have you tried to dispute a bill with AT&T lately?
More crony capitalism from the rhino infiltrators of the GOP.
Who wants to bet Thune goes to work as a lobbyist for a communications industry firm when he leaves the senate in 2022?