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I've spent years covering rural broadband. Holcomb is absolutely right it is a major issue that contributes to the urban / rural divide. However, here's what this ad fails to mention, a thread... https://twitter.com/HolcombForIN/status/1302969873979465729
$100 million sounds great, but in reality the cost required to connect all rural Hoosiers is well north of $1 billion. This is the equivalent of walking into a car dealership with a few hundred bucks and expecting to leave in a new Tesla. It's progress, but not enough. 2/
People smarter than me have done studies looking at this investment. The math works. For every dollar spent on broadband, four come back to local economies. https://www.pcrd.purdue.edu/files/media/006-RPINsights-Indiana-Broadband-Study.pdf
That assumes folks adopt it. Telecoms say even in areas where service is available, adoption is too low. Why? Well, it's expensive, populations tend to be older and less inclined, and rural incomes are declining.
To think for even a second, legislation has solved this problem is laughable. I said as much here: https://indianapublicmedia.org/news/legislation-solved-indianas-rural-broadband-problem-remcs-145103.php
It can help provide incentives, but isn't the only answer. Telecoms and providers are the ones putting fiber in the ground and actually connecting ppl. Rural areas just aren't attractive. They're sparsely populated, adoption is low, and geographically challenging.
That's why it is much more economical for a provider to invest in connecting a dense city (lots of people crammed in a small area) as opposed to rural areas (few people, all of which are spread out).
It's the same problem the US faced with electricity. Rural Electric Cooperatives are getting into this space, already have the infrastructure and by nature are non-profits. They have a role to play. But tell me they aren't getting enough support from policymakers.
Perhaps worst of all, no one really knows how many people want service, but can't get it. Telecoms mark census blocks as served if one customer has sketchy service. In rural areas they can span HUNDREDS of square miles. https://www.census.gov/newsroom/blogs/random-samplings/2011/07/what-are-census-blocks.html
TL;DR Holcomb hasn't solved Indiana's digital divide. He's helped, but investments are far too small to claim success. Problem requires coordination between governments and private partners. Touting one-off investment, and considering problem solved doesn't pass fact check.
