Access Humboldt joins call for Rural Broadband Principles

Rural Broadband Policy Group Files FCC Comments
Access Humboldt joins call for Rural Broadband Principles

Eureka, CA - Access Humboldt joined with the Center for Rural Strategies and other members of the Rural Broadband Policy Group in filing comments today with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). The FCC was required by the 2008 Farm Bill to: “identify how specific Federal agency programs and resources can best respond to rural broadband requirements and overcome obstacles.”

The Rural Broadband Policy Group, which also includes the California Center for Rural Policy based at Humboldt State University, proposed basic principles for a national rural broadband strategy, including: Communication is a fundamental human right; diversity of rural America; local ownership, self reliance and investment in the community; and, network neutrality.

Comments filed with the FCC today noted, “our communications infrastructure must prioritize competition, innovation and localism…and regulation of networks must ensure connection to the backbone of the internet globally.”

Sean McLaughlin, executive director of Access Humboldt said, “residents of rural communities such as the Redwood Coast of California value basic human rights, including freedom of information and expression, ‘by any media and regardless of frontiers.’ So, we fully endorse these principles to advance broadband media access.”

Specific needs identified for rural broadband include: locally-owned infrastructure; assistance in technology adoption; accurate data on service availability and adoption, and; uniform and transparent federal policies.