Recently, I met with some Flathead Valley business and political leaders to discuss job creation and other matters of interest to Montanans. As an entrepreneur and investor who works with start-up technology companies, it’s clear that our state’s technology infrastructure is key to many of the companies we are nurturing. Since these technology start-ups create new jobs – which, like in all states, are key to our economic recovery – communications policy changes under consideration at the federal and state levels are very important.
For this reason, I shared with the group my concerns about the Federal Communications Commission’s new proposal to reclassify broadband, which would impose a decades-old regulatory regime on new technologies, including wireless communication. While the FCC’s goal to expand broadband to every home in America is a noble one and generally well-received, the proposal to reclassify broadband crosses the line by attempting to impose a heavy-handed regulatory framework on one of the key drivers of our economy today.
As I began sharing all the ways that wireless communication has been important to my life in Montana, the group began talking excitedly about the newest locations that are now connected for cell phone service – communities like Troy, Glendive, Sidney, and the Swan.
This group of businessmen and women could identify locations (by the mile marker) that were newly lit up with wireless service. They had stories to tell about a call they’d made or completed that wouldn’t have happened a few years ago. They weren’t angry, they were enthused. They know how hard it is to provide access for some of these remote communities. And that’s really the point isn’t it? If there’s even the slightest possibility that imposing an outdated regulatory scheme on mobile infrastructures will slow down innovation and progress, then the risk to rural communities is just too great.
Unfortunately, the current FCC proposal is derived from a telecom model that was in place long before any of these technological advancements became reality. We can and should do better than that. Everyone knows that the way we do business in America and around the world is changing. The economic hardships that rural America faces has made many communities like mine turn to the technology sector for promising investment and job opportunities.
With both urban and rural communities heavily dependent on the future of tech business, leaders in the federal government should be doing everything they can to set policies that will promote investor and consumer confidence. We can’t afford to gamble with heavy-handed regulation that would only stifle this progress.
I’m not a business rock star or big political player, just someone who is deeply committed to and optimistic about economic development in our state. For Montana, this is an important issue and I am hopeful that the FCC heeds the concerns of rural residents who don’t want to see speed limit signs on the technology deployment highway.
Diane Smith is co-founder of Northfork Strategies and was co-founder and chief executive officer of Auroras Entertainment, an IPTV and advanced media services company in Kalispell. She serves on the Advisory Board of Mobile Future (www.mobilefuture.org).