Name: Land O’ Lakes CEO calls for big federal spending on rural broadband
Uploaded: 2020-10-26
Duration: 3 min 27 s
Description: Beth Ford estimates that wiring rural America will cost $100 billion.

 ROBERT MACKETT: So Beth, I want to start with you. My fiancé's parents have a cabin in the Catskills. And when I travel up there, I stop getting text messages and emails and calls. I'm off the grid. And I think to myself, ahh, sweet relief. But with all this awareness you're raising about the lack of internet connectivity across this country, it sounds like you're trying to take that peace of mind away from me. What gives? BETH FORD: Well, you know, it sounds like fun when you're normally in a city, and you're moving on vacation, and boy, I'm untethered, and I'm not going to get all of those emails, and isn't that terrific. But the problem is this is a daily challenge for rural areas. 18 to 20 million Americans lack access to broadband. So many of them lack access to Wi-Fi. And the majority of them, probably 80% to 90%, are in rural communities. So here we are in this pandemic where everybody is working remotely. They're trying to see doctors remotely. And there's a shortage of 40,000 doctors in rural communities. There's a food shortage in rural communities. There's a housing shortage in rural communities-- all of which can be enabled with technology. So we've been talking about this for quite some time. But right now, the pandemic has put this in sharp relief. And what we would say is we need to have investment-- it's about a $100 billion infrastructure investment. We need to close this technology gap so that we can enable the vibrancy of these rural communities that have lacked investment for a considerable period of time. If we don't invest in them, they will roll up on us and we'll lose this way of life. We need to remind ourselves this is where our food is being grown. This is about a national security issue. And that national security issue is food security. So I am pushing for this, as is my team and are a number of other corporations. ROBERT MACKETT: So between the two of you, Enrique, HP seems to be the more obvious champion of technology. One could argue that without Bill Hewlett and Dave Packard, there would be no Silicon Valley. From your vantage point, how big of a problem is this digital divide issue? ENRIQUE LORES: So first of all, Robert, thank you for having me here. And Beth, it's an honor to be on the panel with you. I think it is a very significant issue that, with COVID, is accelerating. If there is a consequence of the pandemic, is the acceleration that we have seen in our lives becoming digital. And those people that will not have access to technology, that will not have access to digital content, are going to be left behind if we are not very careful. And this will have implications in many different areas-- will have implications in what jobs they can have access to, will have implications, as Beth was saying, as in what type of medical treatments they will have access to given the situation where they are. And also, even more important, are going to be the implications in the education side. We are seeing many kids now working remotely. And without access to broadband, access to PCs, access to technology, that generation will be significantly impacted going forward. So it's a big issue that I think we all have the obligation of trying to mitigate as the leaders of big companies. 

Beth Ford estimates that wiring rural America will cost $100 billion. 

Land O’ Lakes CEO calls for big federal spending on rural broadband

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Land O’ Lakes CEO calls for big spending on rural broadband