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Broadband providers urged to put rural Arkansans' needs ahead of profits Wednesday, Feb 27, 2008 By Jason Wiest Arkansas News Bureau LITTLE ROCK - Communications industry officials were urged by Gov. Mike Beebe's office Tuesday to put Arkansans, not profits, first while working to extend broadband into rural areas of the state. Industry officials gathered at the public library in downtown Little Rock for a forum sponsored by the Arkansas Broadband Advisory Council. The panel was created last year by the Legislature to monitor the broadband-based development efforts of other states and nations and advise Arkansas government officials on policies related to making affordable broadband available to every home and business in Arkansas. "We hope to get more interaction, more communication going among the folks that are working on different projects," said council Chairman James Winningham. "We have a lot of energy, a lot of talent, a lot of drive, a lot of what I would call Arkansas patriotism working on different projects in this state because people understand the desperate need for either broadband or something that needs broadband." Elected officials have repeatedly said that high-speed Internet access must be extended into rural Arkansas to offer people there better medical resources, expanded educational opportunities, and access to the global economy. Without broadband access, the state could slip further behind in everything from per capita income to educational achievement, they say. Broadband will be the "skeleton" for Gov. Mike Beebe's education and economic development initiatives, Grant Tennille, a spokesman for Beebe said Tuesday. Beebe, who was traveling back to the state from the National Governor's Association winter meeting, was unable to attend the event. Tennille encouraged cable and telephone companies, as well as other parties in the industry, to work together to find solutions to extending coverage. Companies generally find it unprofitable to extend expensive broadband infrastructure into rural areas. "If you look to (Beebe) to find the solution, he'll find a fair solution, which usually involves nobody being happy at the end," Tennille said. |
