Senators Roger Wicker (R-MS), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Steve Daines (R-MT), and Jon Tester (D-MT) have introduced legislation in the U.S. Senate that would help facilitate the deployment of broadband Internet across rural America – including ranchland and cropland, where broadband connectivity is increasingly essential for production agriculture. Specifically, the Precision Agriculture Connectivity Act of 2018 (S. 2343), which has companion legislation in the House of Representatives co-sponsored by Reps. Bob Latta (R-OH) and Dave Loebsack (D-IA), would direct the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to establish a task force to identify gaps in high-speed Internet connectivity for the nation’s cropland and ranchland and develop ways to help encourage broadband adoption and precision agriculture in areas where it is currently unavailable. S. 2343 has been referred to the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation for further deliberation.
