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Obama in Iowa: Broadband ‘a necessity’ but rural America slow

2015_0115_WH_downloadspeeds Graphic showing how a few cities across the world rank by their Internet download speeds. (White House)


“Today, high-speed broadband is not a luxury, it’s a necessity,” President Barack Obama said Wednesday during a visit to Cedar Falls, Iowa, a city that has developed its own community broadband network with internet speeds faster than Washington, New York and San Francisco.

Obama noted that after 113,000 miles of network infrastructure were built under the Recovery Act, 98 percent of Americans have access to the most basic levels of broadband.

But he added, “Right now, about 45 million Americans cannot purchase next-generation broadband. And that next generation of broadband creates connections that are six or seven times faster than today’s basic speeds. And by the way, only about half of rural Americans can log on at that super-fast rate.”

President Barack Obama
President Barack Obama speaks about broadband access in Cedar Falls, Iowa, on Wednesday. (White House/Pete Souza)

Obama’s trip focused on the activities of the Commerce Department and the Federal Communications Commission and the controversial issues of competition and net neutrality. Commerce Secretary Penny Pritzer accompanied him on the trip while Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack was in Arizona making an announcement on conservation.

But Obama noted, “The Department of Agriculture is announcing new loan opportunities for rural providers.”

A White House fact sheet also noted that the Agriculture Department is accepting applications to its Community Connect broadband grant program and “will reopen a revamped broadband loan program, which offers financing to eligible rural carriers that invest in bringing high-speed broadband to unserved and underserved rural areas.”

Obama called Cedar Falls “Iowa’s first gigabit city,” and noted that its broadband service is “almost a hundred times faster than the national average.”

“But here’s the catch,” Obama added.

“In too many place across America, some big companies are doing everything they can to keep out competitors. Today in 19 states, we’ve got laws on the books that stamp out competition and make it really difficult for communities to provide their own broadband the way you guys are.

“In some states, it is virtually impossible to create a community network like the one that you’ve got here in Cedar Falls. So today, I’m saying we're going to change that. Enough is enough. We're going to change that so every community can do the smart things you guys are doing.”

“So not long ago, I made my position clear on what’s called net neutrality. I believe we’ve got to maintain a free and open Internet,” Obama continued.

“Today, I’m making my administration’s position clear on community broadband. I’m saying I’m on the side of competition.”

Obama also said he is “directing federal agencies to get rid of unnecessary regulations that slow the expansion of broadband or limit competition. They're going to report back to me in six months.”

This summer, he added, he will host mayors from around the nation “at a Community Broadband Summit to chart the next steps that we need to take.”

— Community-Based Broadband Solutions: The Benefits of Competition and Choice for Community Development and Highspeed Internet Access
White House — Remarks by the President on Promoting Community Broadband
— Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack and Commerce Secretary Penny Pritzker: Broadband: The Electricity of the 21st Century
— (Video) These New Actions by the President Could Make Your Internet Faster
— 5 Things You Need to Know About President Obama’s Broadband Announcement