Rep McClain Delaney: Expanding Internet Access To Underserved Rural Areas Crucial

She says having the internet access  is a necessity, not a luxury.Rep. April McClain Delaney, D-MdFrederick, Md (KM) The internet is more than a luxury; it’s a necessity. That’s according to 6th District Representative April McClain Delaney who chairs the New Dem Rural Broadband Task Force which is working for expansion of internet service to rural areas. She says it’s as important as household utilities such as water and electricity. “How important connectivity is for business development, for our rural hospitals, for our schools, “she says. “And that we need to make sure there are a lot of public-private partnerships and vision about getting it deployed.”McClain Delaney says expanding rural broadband presents a number of challenges, and that includes many rural areas which are sparsely populated. “To work with our providers and the Maryland State Broadband Office to make sure it’s expected because it is more difficult to reach these rural locations,” she says.And there’s also the costs of expanding internet access to rural areas. “Until late last year, we had the affordability program. Its authorization has expired, but I’d like to see that re-authorized,”  she says.Representative McClain Delaney says rural broadband must also meet certain requirements. “The key is that you have something that is reliable, high speed–which they define as 100 megabits down, 20 up,  which is enough to do the utility to stream and have sufficient capacity for your household–and that it’s affordable,” she says.”I grew up in Idaho. A big, big issue for me is that rural America can thrive and you really can’t do it without connectivity,” McClain Delaney continues. “It’s like water, like electricity. You need a little bit of extra public funding to make sure it works.”Congresswoman McClain Delaney was in Libertytown on Monday, hosting a roundtable discussion on rural broadband. She was accompanied Representative Nikki Budzinski, a Democrat from Illinois.  Both are members of the New Democratic Coalition which is a center left group pushing for economic growth, strong communities and a robust national defense.By Kevin McManus