Weekly Column

By U.S. Senator Deb Fischer
**Click here to download audio of this week’s column**

On May 5, I held a meeting with FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr in Lincoln, where he spoke with Nebraska state senators on the Unicameral’s Transportation and Telecommunications Committee and also with members of the Nebraska Public Service Commission. This was a wonderful chance for these Nebraska leaders to talk with Commissioner Carr about what’s going right in our state and about what we could be doing better.

The Nebraska Sandhills have taught me that people in rural America often have to work harder to have access to basic services that are more readily available in cities. One of these is high-speed internet. When you live outside of a city’s limits, it can be much more expensive to connect your house to broadband. As a result, only about three-quarters of rural residents have reliable internet connections available in their homes.

These Americans are at risk of being left behind in our increasingly digital world. I don’t think someone’s ability to attend school online or participate in telehealth and visit with their doctor remotely should depend on where they live. Commissioner Carr, one of the four current commissioners of the Federal Communications Commission, agrees with me.

Commissioner Carr spoke of how important broadband has become in the 21st century – not only for families and businesses, but also to support innovations in areas such as precision agriculture, which relies on the fast flow of data that is made possible by high-speed internet. Nebraska ag has a lot to gain from making connectivity more accessible on our farms and ranches.

The Commissioner also spoke about the recent Rural Digital Opportunity Fund (RDOF) auction, the first phase of which is bringing broadband to over five million homes and businesses that previously didn’t have access. The second phase will bring reliable, high-speed internet connections to millions more. 

In 2019, I joined a bipartisan group of my U.S. Senate colleagues in sending a letter to the FCC, encouraging them to use RDOF to invest in sustainable rural networks. This latest auction is an important step.

I have also led several bills in the Senate to address the digital divide, including the Rural Spectrum Accessibility Act and the DIGIT Act, which will improve device connectivity in agriculture, transportation, and healthcare. Both of these bills are now law. All Nebraskans should be able to take advantage of the tremendous technological advances we are experiencing.

Most recently, the Data Mapping to Save Moms’ Lives Act, which I helped introduce with Senator Jacky Rosen of Nevada, was approved by the Senate Commerce Committee. This would help identify places where poor maternal health overlaps with a lack of broadband access. Telehealth has enormous potential to help all Americans visit the doctor remotely, and this bill would help us figure out which parts of the country need it most. 

Commissioner Carr’s trip to Lincoln was not his first visit to our state. I hosted him in Northeast Nebraska in 2018 as well, when he visited Stanton Telecom, Northeast Community College, and participated in a roundtable with telecommunications providers who serve different parts of the state. Meetings like these help the FCC understand what Nebraska needs – and right now, we need better access to reliable broadband.

Thank you for participating in the democratic process. I look forward to visiting with you again next week.

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