Connect Americans Now: Statement On rural broadband field hearing

Contact: Zachary Cikanek
zach@connectamericansnow.com

Washington, D.C. – Connect Americans Now (CAN) Executive Director Richard T. Cullen released the following statement ahead of the U.S. House Committee on Small Business Subcommittee on Contracting and Infrastructure field hearing entitled “Small Businesses and Their Limitations Without Reliable Access to Rural Broadband:”

“Countless small businesses throughout rural America are being held back without access to broadband, and we thank Chairman Golden and Ranking Member Stauber for hosting this critical hearing and learning firsthand how the digital divide is impacting main street businesses.

“As the Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) 2019 Broadband Deployment Report showed, removing the regulatory barriers limiting investments in TV white spaces and other innovative, wireless technologies to bridge the digital divide is as important as ever. Chairman Golden and Ranking Member Stauber have both championed this issue, and we look forward to hearing what they learn from small business owners in today’s hearing.”

BACKGROUND:

On April 15, 2019, Chairman Golden led a bipartisan group of Small Business Committee members in writing a letter that asks the FCC to remove the regulatory barriers limiting investments in TV white spaces technology.

About Connect Americans Now

Connect Americans Now is a group of concerned citizens, local organizations, rural advocates and leading innovators committed to eliminating the digital divide that is holding back rural America. Our goal is to bring rural Americans who currently lack connectivity safe and affordable broadband access by 2022 so they can take advantage of the economic and educational opportunities that exist in other communities.