Today I found an editorial in the Walker Pilot Independent from Senator Klobuchar on the need for better ubiquitous broadband – but in looking deeper I see it was earlier posted in the Faribault Daily News. Either way, she recognizes the advantage broadband brings to a community…

I have seen firsthand the benefits that broadband has delivered, as well as the challenges faced by communities where broadband hasn’t reached. I recently had the opportunity to visit Pine Technical and Community College in Pine County and learn that the school has expanded the number of hours each day the computer lab is open. Why? Because most students have no option except a slow dial-up connection at home, making online research very hard — especially for students facing midterm deadlines.

Students aren’t the only ones facing challenges. A farm equipment company in Willmar called Haug Implement flies its equipment over a farmer’s fields to capture aerial imagery, and then the farmer uses the information provided to make decisions about how to improve their crops. When those farmers can’t download this information efficiently, it limits Haug’s ability to grow its business. Haug employees told me that they often encourage their customers to bring their laptops to the closest restaurant or coffee shop because many farmers don’t have access to a reliable internet connection at home. Our farmers shouldn’t have to order a hamburger to meet the demands of their businesses.

And outlines a few ways to increase access to better broadband…

There are common sense ways we can increase broadband access. The first is with funding. The federal government recently awarded more than $85 million to Minnesota for rural broadband deployment. This will help connect more than 170,000 Minnesota homes and businesses to high-speed internet. Second, I am leading a bipartisan effort with Republican Senator John Thune of South Dakota in calling on the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to modernize its support for rural broadband services to better fit the needs of consumers. Currently, support is tied to traditional telephone service. This means consumers with a package of telephone and broadband service can receive support, but those with stand alone broadband subscriptions are not eligible. These outdated rules create a needless link between customers signing up for services they may not want or need and broadband deployment. Senator Thune and I have been calling on the FCC to update these rules, including leading a bipartisan letter this spring urging the FCC to ensure rural consumers can have access to affordable broadband services without being compelled to purchase other services.

I am also leading a bipartisan bill to reduce the costs of building broadband infrastructure. My legislation would require states and federal agencies to coordinate highway construction with broadband installation – in other words, that they only “dig once” and lay the groundwork for broadband when building or expanding roads. The bill would also cut red tape for companies, states, and local governments that want to install broadband infrastructure on federal land. I also introduced legislation that would provide incentives for wireless carriers to lease unused spectrum to rural or smaller carriers in order to expand wireless coverage in rural communities.

It was interesting to see how much she picked up from a meeting from Willmar last summer.