Montana delegation fights to expand high-speed internet access

Tester, Baucus, Daines: Broadband will ‘boost Montana’s economy, connect markets’

Montana’s Congressional delegation is fighting to increase Montanans’ access to high-speed internet in order to spur economic development and create jobs.

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is helping to spread broadband internet access nationwide through its Connect America Fund. Broadband internet can transmit more information at faster speeds than traditional internet connections.

Senators Jon Tester and Max Baucus, along with Representative Steve Daines, want the FCC to maximize broadband’s effectiveness in Montana by expanding it more quickly across the Big Sky State. They say the technology will strengthen the state’s economy.

"Continued investments in broadband infrastructure will boost economic development and promote innovation across rural parts of the country," Tester, Baucus and Daines wrote. "Montana is one of the largest states in the country and this technology connects farmers and ranchers with markets all over the world and allows startups to become integral national companies."

Tester, Baucus and Daines also say that broadband improves the ability of people living in rural areas to access telemedicine services and online education classes, increasing their access to health care and furthering their educations.

The FCC’s Connect America Fund, which was unveiled in 2011, aims to provide nearly 20 million rural American households with access to broadband connections by 2020.

The delegation’s letter to FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski is available online HERE.

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Contact:

Andrea Helling/Dan Malessa 202-228-0371 (Tester)

Jenny Donohue 202-224-2651/Kathy Weber 406-329-3123 (Baucus)

Alee Lockman 202-225-3211 (Daines)