• Home
  • News
    • Politics & Government
    • Business & Economy
    • Crime / Courts
    • Health / Medicine
  • Sports
    • High School Sports
    • Radio Iowa Poll
  • Affiliates
    • Affiliate Support Page
  • Contact Us
    • Reporters

Radio Iowa

Iowa's Radio News Network

You are here: Home / News / Broadband bill gets scrutiny from senators

Broadband bill gets scrutiny from senators

May 5, 2015 By O. Kay Henderson

Janet Petersen (file photo)

Janet Petersen (file photo)

Key senators are asking questions about a bill that supporters say will help expand broadband access in Iowa.

The House-passed bill would set up a new, state-run grant program, but it would depend on getting federal money to run it. Senator Janet Petersen, a Democrat from Des Moines, says that puts parameters on how federal money can be utilized.

“And I don’t think we want to necessarily do that,” Petersen says, “and potentially jeopardize getting federal funding in here that may actually help Iowans more.”

The bill that cleared the House with bipartisan support in April also establishes a new, 10-year-long property tax exemption for companies that extend high-speed broadband service in “unserved or underserved areas” of the state. Senator Petersen says that tax break should be targeted to getting broadband to the 27,000 Iowa households that do not have access to it today.

“If we’re going to offer incentives, I think we need to be offering incentives to reach that population, not incentivizing what’s already going on in our state,” Petersen says.

Petersen and two other senators held a statehouse hearing today on the issue and lobbyists for the telecommunications industry expressed support for the House bill. A spokesman for the Iowa Communications Alliance says the Iowa businesses and households that do not have access to broadband today are “the hardest and most expensive to serve” — either because they may be in rural, isolated areas or they’re in an area that already has broadband service, but lacks the capacity to add new customers.

Share this:

  • Facebook
  • Twitter

Filed Under: News, Politics / Govt, Technology Tagged With: Democratic Party, Legislature, Republican Party, Utilities

Featured Stories

Exhibit features lesser known works of Grant Wood

Testing finds 21 new CWD cases in deer

It may become a crime in Iowa to use fake urine in workplace drug tests

February trending 18 degrees below average temperature

Iowa House Education Committee votes to end tenure at UI, ISU, UNI

TwitterFacebook
Tweets by RadioIowa

Key stretch begins for #9 Iowa

Drake’s Roman Penn lost for the season

Drake’s DeVries named to Naismith watch list

State wrestling opens with limited attendance

Iowa’s Wieskamp is B1G Player of the Week

More Sports

eNews and Updates

Enter your email address:

Delivered by FeedBurner

Archives

Copyright © 2021 ยท Learfield News & Ag, LLC