Congress may refocus rural internet funding

For the last couple of years, I've questioned the efficiency and maybe even the propriety of the way the USDA has handled programs that were intended to spread broadband internet access to more rural areas. Too much of the money seemed to be going to either far-flung Indian reservations or suburban areas.

The vast heartland - where farmers and ranchers actually need broadband service - were passed over. Or, USDA made programs so restrictive or complicated that small business people couldn't readily gain the kind of support needed to build viable systems, like wireless networks.

This week, members of a U.S. House committee charged that a 5-year, $1.2 billion program to expand broadband internet services to rural communities has missed many unserved areas while channeling hundreds of millions of dollars in subsidized loans to companies in places where service already exists.

"If you don't fix this, I guarantee you this committee will," House Ag Committee Chairman Collin C. Peterson (D-Minn.) told James M. Andrew, administrator of the Rural Utilities Service at the U.S. Department of Agriculture. "I don't know why it should be this hard."

Thank you, Congressman Peterson.

The quote from was an article in the Washington Post, which recently has delved into the workings of USDA rural development programs, including the mandate to expand rural internet service.

"In September 2005, USDA's inspector general reported that the broadband program "has not maintained its focus on rural communities" that are without service, according to the Post.

Anybody reading this on a dial-up connection would probably agree.

Click here to read the full story, posted on the Ag Observatory web site.

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