Lawmakers team up to support legislation to speed up rural broadband funding

TUPELO, Miss. (WCBI) – A bipartisan effort was underway to speed up a federal rural broadband funding program.

A bill moving through the US House of Representatives would help speed up the release of $940 million for broadband access to portions of the state without reliable internet service.

Northern District Public Service Commissioner Brandon Presley spent Friday learning more about the Rural Digital Opportunity Fund in a video conference call. He wanted all areas of the state to have the same access to reliable internet.

“The time is now,” said Presley.

He said a bill filed by US Congressmen Jim Clyburn, a South Carolina Democrat and Fred Upton, a Republican from Michigan, would speed up the process that awards contracts to bidders.

$16 million has already been allocated. Presley believed the coronavirus related shutdowns have made it clear the state needs reliable internet for everyone.

“These dollars can go and be seed money for our rural electric cooperatives in Mississippi who are already moving in this area to deploy this service faster, this does help with financial concerns, which are valid, going into these type of ventures, but dollars are going to be spent, I think question is when and consensus is now, Presley said.

Republican Congressman Trent Kelly would co-sponsor the bill. He said electric cooperatives were uniquely positioned to provide broadband service.

“It’s the next big electric power, and if you go back and think when we put electricity to America, all the big cities got it, but to get it to the rural, you had to have electric cooperatives and now they can do the same thing with broadband, which is our next biggest utility now,” Cong. Kelly said.

Mississippi Congressman Bennie Thompson would also co-sponsor the legislation. The federal money would only be for projects that could begin construction within six months and that have customers online within a year.

Presley was hopeful Mississippi Senator Roger Wicker will join the effort. Wicker is chairman of the Senate Commerce Committee.