From left: John May, Jenni Word & Suzanne Coker Craig
How can broadband connectivity make a difference in consumers’ lives? Witnesses who testified at a House Communications Subcommittee hearing yesterday (see story further up) discussed connectivity making farming more efficient and enabling “telemedicine” in rural areas.
John May, President of the Ag Solutions division for Deere & Company as well as Chief Information Officer, said his firm has data platforms, so farm equipment can be connected in the field. But the promise of “precision ag,” meaning using less water and chemicals to increase crop yield, needs broadband connectivity. Many of its customers don’t have internet connectivity at all, or their connection is unreliable. “Cell towers are the key to delivering the signals. We need more of them over cropland and ranch land,” said May.
Farmers, their employees and buyers conduct business on or near farms, he said, adding the benefits of more precise farming are increased crop growth coupled with environmental stewardship. Connected machinery can help farmers plant seeds precisely where they want, for example. When it’s time to bring in the crop, that same connectivity helps transmit data from the machinery to the cloud and back, enabling the farmer to create reports that describe seed type or water use affecting yield, for example.
Jenni Word, RN, Associate Administrator and Chief Nursing Officer, Wallowa Memorial Hospital in Oregon, said her 25-bed hospital serves a county with a population of about 2.2 persons per square mile. The next closest hospital is 65 miles away. “Telehealth enables us to fill in gaps in services.” Many patients would rather stay in their homes than go to the hospital, especially in winter, Word said. But sometimes they lose their broadband connection and medical personnel lose access to patient records.
Many wireless and wired infrastructure companies have told the FCC that localities often make it harder to deploy needed infrastructure in public rights-of-way. Twenty states have enacted laws either prohibiting such deployment, or making the permitting process onerous, says CTIA.
Pinetops, NC, is one of those places. Suzanne Coker Craig, Former Commissioner for Pinetops who’s also a local business owner, described the tortuous route town officials had to take after they persuaded a local company to upgrade their service from dial-up to broadband. Big telecoms fought against it and persuaded the state to pass a law preventing it, she testified. Pinetops now has broadband access, but it’s limited to the town limits. As a result, Pinetops struggles to attract and retain college-educated residents, according to Coker Craig.
By Leslie Stimson, Inside Towers Washington Bureau Chief
July 18, 2018
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