North Carolina House Bill 1228 would bring more broadband opportunity to rural areas

OPINION:

I was awestruck by the launch of the first private crewed orbital flight last month. It was a historical moment not only for SpaceX but for our nation and the world. Private space flight has the potential to forever change the way man looks up at the stars — and how space can benefit mankind.

That also made it a fitting time for me and my colleagues to introduce North Carolina House Bill 1228. New technology pushed by those daring enough to innovate, like SpaceX and its Starlink satellite-based Internet service, bring more broadband opportunity to rural areas in our state. Our bill will help facilitate that at a crucial time when virtual communication has never been more crucial to every-day operations.

HB1228 creates a grant program that will increase access to satellite-based broadband in areas of the state that currently lack access. Our state’s Department of Information Technology will handle the grants to satellite-based providers and will give priority to projects offering service to the greatest number of households.

It may be hard to believe, but not everyone has reliable access to quality Internet in America. A Pew Research Center survey in 2018 found 58 percent of rural Americans polled said that access to high-speed Internet was a problem for them. 

Meanwhile, the Federal Communications Commission in its annual report on broadband deployment notes that the digital divide is continuing to close with 77.7% of rural Americans having access to 25/3 Mbps terrestrial Internet.

Virtually all Americans can access Internet by satellite and providers are jumping into the competition. None more so than SpaceX and the aforementioned Starlink system of satellites that they hope to activate for customers in the northern United States and Canada this year — and extend service globally by the following year.

I am glad North Carolina can be part of this exciting future because ensuring that all Americans have access to quality Internet is a priority for governments and providers alike. I have always been a limited government guy and have often found that simply getting out of the way of business and providing incentive where the economics just do not pencil out. 

That includes removing regulatory hurdles and excessive, government-imposed costs but also why programs like the FCC’s Rural Digital Opportunity Fund, which have proven track records of helping to close the digital divide, exist.

The reasons are obvious. Folks out in the country are spread out — it is one of the reasons they like living the rural lifestyle. But putting cable in the ground is expensive and putting miles of cable down for a just handful of homes does not make financial sense. Especially when the Internet service provider must return periodically to upgrade the service. Satellite Internet is changing the way we provide that service but the start-up costs of putting the infrastructure in orbit is obviously tremendous.

That is why we have put forward HB1228 in North Carolina. As we learned during the COVID-19 pandemic, access to the Internet is vital for information, education and help. That is why our bill has bipartisan support. It is my hope that satellite Internet can close the digital divide — for good. 

• Jason Saine is a member of the North Carolina General Assembly, representing District 97. He is the House Senior Appropriations chair and vice chairman of the Appropriations, Information Technology Committee. Follow him on Twitter @JasonSaine97th.