Statewide, Iowa — (RI) — A new report finds rural states like Iowa are still far behind in getting high-speed internet to all corners, which impacts the rate of growth and success.
Johnathan Hladlik, policy director with the Center For Rural Affairs, says 31-percent of rural households lack access to broadband internet. He says that means those communities and their residents will be at an economic disadvantage.
The center’s report, called “Map to Prosperity,” found of the more than 25-million households that lack access to broadband internet, 19-million of them are in rural areas. Hladik says coverage maps being used to determine how many people are covered in rural communities need to be re-written.
States that use less-effective methods to monitor coverage are bringing about large over-estimations about who’s covered. Hladik says that’s unacceptable when considering how much broadband can contribute to a state’s economy.
The center is pushing for legislation that will ensure better coverage for rural communities. Broadband is defined by the FCC as internet connections capable of 25 Megabits per second (Mbps) for download and 3 Mbps for upload speed.
