Reliable, high-speed internet access has long been a challenge in rural parts of the West. Recently the Western Governor鈥檚 Association sent to Congress to encourage efforts to improve the situation.
The U.S. House and Senate held hearings on broadband access earlier this month. And the WGA - a bipartisan group that represents state executives across our region - shared its recommendations.
The first was for federal agencies to substantially increase the definition of broadband to "at least" 100 megabytes per second (Mbps) for downloads, 20 megabytes per second for uploads, and "scalable to" 100 Mbps for both.
鈥淲estern Governors encourage Congress and federal agencies to recognize that the current definition of broadband 鈥� 25/3 Mbps 鈥� does not correspond with the requisite download and upload speeds necessary to support many business, education, and health care applications that promote economic and community prosperity,鈥� reads the group鈥檚 broadband policy, which was drafted in 2023 and included with the letters.
The Federal Communications Commission took that in March. The WGA鈥檚 Lauren Cloward applauded that move, but said more work remains.
鈥淭his is a standard that we're hoping to see across all federal programs,鈥� she said. 鈥淎nd there's a number of agencies that are involved in rural broadband work.鈥�
The WGA also asked that the 鈥渆xorbitant costs and challenges鈥� of deploying broadband in much of the West be reflected in allocations and that infrastructure permitting be streamlined.
In a March regarding the broadband definition change, the FCC noted that broadband was 鈥渘ot being deployed in a reasonable and timely fashion鈥� in rural areas and on Tribal lands.
鈥淩ural areas and Tribal lands significantly trail more urban areas, with approximately 28% of people living in rural areas and approximately 23% of people living on Tribal lands lacking access to 100/20 Mbps fixed broadband services,鈥� the full reads.
This story was produced by the Mountain West News Bureau, a collaboration between Wyoming Public Media, Nevada Public Radio, Boise State Public Radio in Idaho, KUNR in Nevada, 萝莉少女 in Colorado and KANW in New Mexico, with support from affiliate stations across the region. Funding for the Mountain West News Bureau is provided in part by the .
