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One in five homes in Alaska does not have access to broadband, according to the FCC Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel.
“I think it's incumbent on the agency to start thinking about those programs in a new way because I think the rules that govern them date back a good ten years or so,” FCC Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel said.
On Monday, the commissioner and Senator Mark Begich were part of a round table table discussion at the Dena’ina Center.
She will be visiting rural communities this week to learn of some of people's concerns with access to communications.
“I've actually been to some schools and rural healthcare facilities in the villages before, and it is pretty amazing the things they can do today, but I think with more bandwidth, they can do even more amazing things,” Rosenworcel said.
Currently, there are programs that give assistance to communities to help with broadband access via schools, libraries and healthcare facilities, however Rosenworcel said the more access the better.
“We have a whole patchwork of systems that are designed to help. The more difficult news is that Alaska's topography is tough,” Rosenworcel said. “We're going to have to take all those programs, wrestle with them and make sure we can do more.”