Bridge the divide

State needs broadband to survive

Broadband isn’t a luxury. It’s an essential tool for everyday life. Today, it’s hard to survive— much less thrive—without access to fast, affordable and reliable broadband. As the Brookings Institute recently noted, “people’s individual lives often orbit around the Internet, whether at home, at work or on the move.”

Since the onset of covid-19—and the subsequent shift to remote work, school and socializing—this sentiment rings even more true.

Arkansans rely on broadband to successfully search for, apply for and secure jobs. Small and large businesses alike employ it to increase their productivity, boost their operational efficiency and better market their products and services. State healthcare professionals and first responders, particularly in rural communities, count on it to protect public health and safety. And agricultural producers and ranchers use it when tending to their crops, fields and herds.

Beyond the untold economic, health and social benefits, the Internet has become a critical educational tool, capable of equipping Arkansas students for academic and real-world success.

Reliable and affordable broadband is a nonpartisan necessity that members of our Legislature have been working on—and toward—for years. Unfortunately for many Arkansans, however, its reach is not yet universal. Even in our most populous areas like Pulaski County, certain neighborhoods lack dependable access.

The good news? There is now public money available to help solve this issue. And the Arkansas General Assembly, with unwavering support from Gov. Asa Hutchinson, is taking concrete steps to leverage it to bridge the digital divide.

Recently, our state hired Broadband Development Group (BDG) to determine potential coverage gaps, both in urban and rural areas, with hands-on technical support from Altman Solon, a global telecommunications expert. BDG is utilizing a rigorous approach, with near-daily town halls, community meetings and forums to assess our current needs.

Using residents’ input as its guide, the firm will develop a comprehensive plan. This blueprint will help inform the grant-making process—maximizing each dollar—as we deploy this essential infrastructure across Arkansas.

Our path to a statewide broadband plan may have just begun. But Arkansas is ahead of the curve.

Earlier this month, Congress passed the bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. Pew Research Center, an independent think tank, noted the move “empowered entities closest to the problem of insufficient and unaffordable broadband access—state and local governments—to solve it.”

Under the law, states will be required to develop five-year action plans—a task now underway in Arkansas. As part of the bill, Arkansas is set to receive approximately $100 million for broadband coverage, with funds allocated for data collection, plan development and partner coordination.

As we’ve seen over the last decade, but even more so during the covid-19 pandemic, accessible and affordable broadband is instrumental to the long-term success of our residents—and our economy.

A locally informed, data-driven plan for statewide expansion is our connection to a stronger future. By collaborating with private-sector partners, we will not only solve our broadband shortfall. We will also create good-paying jobs and sharpen our workforce’s skills to fulfill these types of roles, now and in the future.

I hope all Arkansans will join the mission to deliver #ARBroadbandNow by stopping by one of BDG’s local town-hall meetings or sharing their input at surveymonkey.com/r/arbroadband.