Event Summary: Christopher Ali on Rural Broadband (2.25.22)
Dr. Christopher Ali presented the fourth talk in our 2021 - 2022 Rural Reconciliation Project program series on RURAL INFRASTRUCTURE, focusing on the theme of BROADBAND. A full recording of his talk, Policies for a Disconnected America: The Promise of Rural Broadband, is available on this page (above and also at this link). Additional archived event information is here.
On this page, Aurora Kenworthy, esteemed RRP research assistant and third-year law student at the University of Nebraska College of Law (find her bio in the student contributor section here), provides a summary of the conversation, from her perspective.
On Friday, February 25, 2022, Dr. Christopher Ali (Media Studies, University of Virginia) delivered a talk entitled “Policies for a Disconnected America: The Promise of Rural Broadband” as part of the Rural Reconciliation Project’s Rural Infrastructure Series. Ali drew from his prior research including his recent book Farm Fresh Broadband: The Politics of Rural Connectivity, which relies on policy analysis, in-depth interviews, and a “rural broadband road trip” taken by Ali and his hound dog, Tuna. Ali’s talk was consistent with a body of research that seeks to humanize a technology-loaded discourse and focus on the lived realities of broadband and broadband policies in rural communities.
Ali’s used the themes of heartbreak and promise to describe rural broadband policy. Ali first addressed the heartbreak. Discussing the varying definitions of broadband, Ali pointed out existing definitions prioritize consumption over production with faster download speeds and slower upload speeds. Ali also compared U.S. speeds with broadband speeds in Canada and suggested U.S. speeds are woefully inadequate. Moving more specifically to rural areas, Ali provided data on broadband access in rural U.S. communities, including the fact that 18% of rural school children lack broadband access and that rural Americans pay 30% more than urban Americans for broadband. Ali also addressed problems surrounding technology selection. Ali asserted the FCC’s policy of technological neutrality has been problematic because all broadband access technologies do not provide equal service. For example, Ali discussed the difficulties for rural communities weighing outdated but cheaper technology with more expensive fiber optic.
After discussing the billions of dollars spent annually on rural broadband deployment, Ali examined why these expenditures have not rendered sufficient results. Ali asserted the problem is not the amount of money but rather how the money is being spent. The majority of funding for past programs has gone to telecommunication companies with only minimal build-out requirements and low standards, meaning these companies did not have to upgrade networks and could employ outdated technologies. Ali emphasized his argument that we should not allow these policies to be replicated in the future
Ali’s talk did not focus solely on the heartbreak, however, and he also addressed the promises of rural broadband. Highlighting the ability of local partnerships to connect communities despite policy and market failures, Ali discussed the work of Rock County, Minnesota, and their achievement of 99.93% broadband coverage locally. Ali also drew parallels between the spread of broadband and the historic Rural Electrification Act (a topic he also wrote about here).
Against this backdrop, Ali suggested a national rural broadband plan with a focus on local broadband that prioritizes people. Further, Ali explained people-centered broadband policy must be local, cooperative, accessible, equitable, inclusive, and accountable.
Ali’s talk included many more examples and data focused on rural communities and broadband, making a full listen to his presentation a must for those interested in this subject. After Ali’s presentation attendees asked questions about the feasibility of fiber, investment priorities, and how Ali’s views changed over the course of his project.
***
Broadband is a contested topic, of course, and we also invite other authors to contribute to the conversation (details here). The Nebraska Governance and Techology Center, which co-hosted a coffee following Dr. Ali’s talk, also shared this summary of the talk and will have more on these themes soon.
As for our infrastructure program, there is more to explore, and the conversation will continue with the next talk in The Rural Reconciliation’s Project’s Rural Infrastructure Series focusing on WATER. Priya Baskaran (Law, American University) will chair a panel of experts from around the country on rural water justice at 2pm CT on March 22, 2022. Register here!
