New Designation Could Lower Barriers To Broadband Service In Some Communities

Indiana’s need for greater speed and capacity in internet service will dramatically increase over the next five years, according to a study from the Indiana Rural Broadband Working Group.

The General Assembly wants to help unserved communities by creating a new designation to act as a signal for broadband providers.

The Rural Broadband Working Group, convened last year, identified barriers to broadband service in the state’s less populated areas.  Those include zoning and permitting processes that vary from county to county and burdensome fees in some municipalities. 

Salem Republican Sen. Erin Houchin says localities that remove some of these barriers will now have a special designation bestowed by the state: Broadband Ready Communities.  Cities, towns and counties must fulfill certain requirements to earn the new label, created by legislation Houchin sponsored.

“They can’t impose a fee to review an application or issue a permit, they can’t impose seasonal moratoriums for the issuance of a project, they can’t discriminate among communications providers or utilities,” Houchin said.

Houchin says the designation will act, as she puts it, like a “lightbulb” for providers to see that an area is ready for broadband service.  She says the label’s creation will hopefully also educate communities that still don’t understand the importance of broadband service.