More than 340,000 Oklahoma public school students have no broadband access when they go home for the day, a state lawmaker said.
Rep. Logan Phillips (R-Mounds) intends to file several bills that will “shrink the digital divide” between rural and urban areas. Oklahoma ranks 47th in the country in broadband connection with 80% of the state unserved, the lawmaker said.
“During COVID, students went home and had no connection and were left without. They couldn’t do their homework. It was a detriment to them. The rural areas across the board are hurting,” Phillips said.
Phillips and other members of Oklahoma’s Rural Broadband Expansion Council, which was developed by the legislature, have worked to map where broadband currently exists and build out to emergency areas first. With federal money in hand, underground fiber is being installed and digital navigators are going into communities that have varying levels of connectivity to help residents with internet access.
“Almost all (rural) areas are in need,” Phillips said.
Joe Dorman, a former lawmaker, and current executive director of the Oklahoma Institute for Child Advocacy said his group plans to lobby Phillips and other lawmakers for broadband bills that will give rural areas more digital access for families and particularly students.
“With what we’ve seen the last 18 months to two years, the need for accessible internet is vital,” Dorman said. “The kids were locked up in their houses.”
A survey of Oklahoma school districts in the early stages of the pandemic found that 167,000 out of 700,000 students (24%) lacked an internet connection at home. Being disconnected – regardless of the reason – has never been a bigger disadvantage, according to a report prepared by the OSU Extension Service.
Even before COVID-19 arrived, the Oklahoma broadband situation was relatively poor. A 2018 report ranked Oklahoma 47th out of 50 states in terms of average speeds and percent of residents connected. The most recent official data from the Federal Communications Commission shows that nationally, 94% of people have access to the official “broadband” threshold speed of 25 Megabits per second (Mbps) download and 3 Mbps upload. In Oklahoma, that number stands at 79%.
Dorman admits that several “private parties,” including Hilliary Communications, have “stepped up their game” and provided needed equipment and internet access.
“But we’re nowhere near our goal,” he said.
Technology and broadband improvement are a critical part of OICA’s political agenda for the 2022 legislative session, which begins in February. The group’s legislative agenda states broadband improvement is “equally important as any other resource for building strong minds, healthy economic prospects, and brighter futures across the entire state. OICA will seek improved access to online essential services, increased broadband access, and increased public-private partnerships to continue this 21st century expansion.”
But that’s not all. The OICA’s strategy includes increased broadband access for healthcare, online job applications, social and mental health programs, virtual support groups for domestic violence victims and protection of children from online predators.
OICA will also encourage public-private partnerships with the state’s banking industry to consider capital investment in broadband infrastructure as part of their community reinvestment strategies.
Millions of dollars in tax rebates already exist for communications companies to build out into the unserved or under-served areas, Phillips said. Oklahoma received $1.9 in American Rescue Plan Act funds from the federal government with $167 million designated for broadband capital project expansion and $100 million for broadband infrastructure, the lawmaker said.
According to the internet site broadbandnow.com, Comanche County has a broadband coverage of 89.9% while nearby Stephens County is listed at 74% and Jefferson County is at 20.3%.