WASHINGTON D.C. — A West Virginia senator is working to get broadband internet in rural areas.
U.S. Senator Shelley Moore Capito introduced the broadband connections for Rural Opportunities Program Act. This is a bipartisan bill that would help close the broadband gap in rural areas. It is estimated that 34 million Americans do not have access to high speed broadband internet. This legislation would allow for federal grants of up to 50 percent of a project's cost to be awarded in combination with loan funding already available through the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Rural Utilities Service. That number increases to 75 percent for remote high need areas.
Capito explained to Newswatch just a few of the ways this bill would help West Virginians.
"We would be able to attract entrepreneurs. We would be able to attract small businesses in areas where they don't exist now because they can't reach out to the rest of the country or around the world to export goods. I think we would have access to better education opportunities for our children, so that when they go home at night they are able to log on and complete their assignments. Also the delivery of rural health care by telemedicine," Capito said.
The legislation would also provide more choices and lower prices for internet in rural areas.
