WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Angus King (I-Maine), a co-chair of the Senate Broadband Caucus, applauded the Federal Communication Commission’s (FCC) move to make affordable and reliable broadband more accessible to rural Americans. Today’s vote by the FCC increases funding to rural broadband providers who serve some of the nation’s most rural communities, ensuring that these providers can continue to expand access to higher-speed broadband in rural areas. Senator King has pushed for these changes, and in May 2018 and August 2017 joined bipartisan groups of his Senate colleagues in letters urging the FCC to expand rural broadband deployment.

“In the 21st century economy, there is no substitute for a high-speed broadband connection,” said Senator King. “Whether it’s a small business trying to reach its global customers or a farm working to improve efficiency, internet access is a vital tool that fuels innovation and economic growth. Today’s FCC vote is just one step – but it’s an important step, that will help rural Maine people.”

Among the providers who will benefit from today’s FCC vote is UniTel, a high-speed internet and phone service provider for central Maine. Senator King visited UniTel in August 2017 during his broadband listening tour of the state with FCC Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel.

“UniTel applauds the leadership of Senator King and other members of Congress who have consistently advocated for rural carriers and the communities they serve” said Laurie Osgood, President and CEO of UniTel Inc. “These efforts have resulted in reforms adopted by the FCC today to provide more predictable levels of support for small rural broadband providers as we continue our commitment to make the benefits and opportunities of broadband access available to everyone who lives in rural Maine.”

Connectivity in rural regions is a key part of Senator King’s economic agenda to help grow Maine’s rural economy, support innovation and create jobs. This week, the Senate passed a reauthorization of the Farm Bill that includes provisions of three broadband bills that he cosponsored: the B-CROP Act, the Precision Agriculture Connectivity Act, and the Northern Border Regional Commission Reauthorization Act. In September, he urged the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Rural Utilities Service to allocate funding towards investing in broadband access for Maine’s underserved and rural areas, and in January he sent a bipartisan letter to the President with his co-chairs on the Senate Broadband Caucus urging stand-alone funding for broadband deployment in any proposed infrastructure package. During his time in office, Senator King has supported the modernization of federal broadband programs, including the FCC’s E-rate program, which supports school and library internet access, and the Senate Farm Bill Broadband Loan Program. In August, he met with farmers in Exeter to discuss the importance of rural broadband to fuel agricultural innovation.