Statement of National Grange President Betsy Huber on FCC broadband & Internet priorities

Betsy Huber, president of the National Grange, issued the following statement to mark the beginning of new Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and Federal Trade Commission (FTC) rules governing high-speed broadband service:

“For more than 10 years, the FCC and federal courts have fought over methods of regulating the Internet. This has done nothing to address America’s most pressing broadband problem: our national need to expand high-speed Internet access across rural and underserved areas.

“People in rural and underserved areas deserve the same broadband choices and speeds as those who live in suburban and urban communities. Federal Internet policy must reflect the needs of every community.

“It is urgent that Congress recognize how the FCC’s constantly changing Internet regulations have acted as a brake on broadband deployment in small towns and rural communities. The 2015 regulations, in particular, caused an unprecedented slow-down in broadband deployment, including tens of billions in lost investment, that hit rural communities especially hard.

“These 2015 regulations marked a bad day for the equity of the under- and un-connected across rural America. After three years of internet experience under Title II, small internet providers across the country say their efforts to deploy broadband have been hindered by the Title II regulations. Today’s fresh start offers hope for the good people the National Grange serves in the form of a welcome reprieve from stifling constraints in search of a problem.

“For years, beginning with the Clinton Administration, there was strong agreement on the benefits of a ‘light touch’ approach to federal Internet regulation that protected Internet users while encouraging greater access. The National Grange urges Congress to continue on this successful path where everyone will benefit.”