The Oklahoma State University Agricultural Economics Department hosted the Rural Economic Outlook Conference at the ConocoPhillips Alumni Center on the OSU campus last week, and Farm Director KC Sheperd had the opportunity to talk with OSU Extension Specialist for Rural Economic Development Brian Whitacre to get the latest update on broadband development in rural areas.
Whitacre said that there are three main broadband funding efforts in Oklahoma: the Capital Project Fund with more than $380 million, and the ARPA State and Local Fiscal Recovery Fund with $374 million, and Broadband Equity Access and Deployment (BEAD) with nearly $800 million.
“We estimate that there are around eighty thousand households without broadband service,” Whitacre said. “We are hopeful that last bucket of $800 million from BEAD will get all of those households connected.”
The Oklahoma Broadband Office has a map on its website for people to check if they are in a zone without broadband access. If a person finds that they don’t have broadband options, they can reach out to providers in their area and let them know that these grant dollars are available to help them extend their service.
The Oklahoma Broadband Office is relatively new and has experienced a huge learning curve which has been overcome with enthusiasm, but the original plan was to sunset the office after five years.
“I’m hoping that doesn’t happen,” Whitacre said. “I want these folks to be in place. There is still a lot of work that we need to do on digital skills – training people to use the technology once the infrastructure is in place. We have three weeks until the election, and there will definitely be some changes.”
He described the variety of connectivity options saying that fiber is the best because it is based on future-proof technology but is also the most expensive. Coaxial cable internet is second on his list as it allows for high speeds. DSL internet is at the bottom of his list, but he realizes that it is all that is available in many rural areas. DSL speeds are significantly slower, and it is a system that broadband advancements may replace when possible.
