We really get tired of reading accounts of how Arkansas is behind other states in one area or another.
So it was no surprise at all to learn how badly Arkansas lags in providing broadband Internet access to households.
A recent Arkansas Democrat-Gazette article, citing Federal Communications Commission reports, pointed out that our state is second-to-last in providing broadband Internet to households as of 2017.
There is some good news in the bad news report and that is that we’re not complete hicks when it comes to the Internet. The Democrat-Gazette article reported that Arkansas is considered a pioneer in providing schools access to broadband Internet.
But about a quarter of the state’s households don’t have access to broadband Internet, according to an FCC report, the Democrat-Gazette reported. That’s about 750,000 people.
Broadband Internet access isn’t exactly a human necessity, some might argue. Maybe a decade ago but technological advances change what becomes necessary in a modern society and economy.
There were times when electricity, and later telephone, service were not considered necessities. As electric service and telephones grew from luxuries to become vital to human existence and safety in prior decades, so has broadband Internet service.
So why is Arkansas, as we work to become a more progressive state, considered backward when it comes to this technology? The Democrat-Gazette article reported that some claim state regulations of Internet providers are too restrictive.
In that regard, Gov. Asa Hutchinson said that he’s met with service providers and pushed for more investment in broadband and a faster pace of deploying it.
“I will also continue to work with legislators to remove barriers that may be making it difficult for providers to extend service throughout the state,” Hutchinson said in a statement. “In the age of technology, industry and business will not locate in areas that do not have high-speed Internet,” he said. “We have made progress but there is much more to do.”
While we have seen broadband service advancing through our area, it is obvious that the governor is right about there being much more to do statewide. We applaud Hutchinson’s leadership in working to move us forward so that we are on a technological par with those states who are our economic development competitors.