The U.S. House of Representatives passed two bills co-sponsored by U.S. Rep. Greg Walden that aim to improve and expand access to rural broadband in Oregon.
“Yesterday the House passed two bipartisan bills that will help communities in places like rural Oregon get access to reliable, high speed broadband,” said Walden. “For example, John Day’s lack of reliable access to internet services has resulted in local businesses at times having to manually process credit cards, making it hard for them to do business. The bills we passed today will help improve broadband mapping, which will enable us to better understand exactly where communities are that still lack high speed internet access. We need to know this before we make investments in broadband build out so we get the help where it is needed. This effort will strengthen connectivity in America and help lessen the urban/rural digital divide.”
Earlier this month, Walden spoke at an Energy and Commerce hearing about this issue, saying, “far too many Oregonians still lack access to reliable broadband.”
Last year, Walden brought Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairman Ajit Pai out to Eastern Oregon to discuss efforts to improve connectivity in rural communities, including making sure patients in remote areas have access to the best doctors through technology such as telehealth.
