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Access to high-speed internet, once a luxury, is a vital necessity today.
The internet is as essential as electricity, water and gas. We use it in virtually all aspects of life, from commerce and how we buy and sell things to medicine and education, including training for adults looking to advance their careers through online certifications and advanced degrees. During the pandemic, it changed how we can access health care.
While serving in the Senate, I voted to authorize “telehealth” and knew it would provide more access. But I never anticipated how rapidly it would morph into “virtual health care” as the best (and sometimes the only) way some Hoosiers access care. Especially during the pandemic, virtual visits helped diagnose and manage COVID-19 as well as aided in diagnosing other medical problems that, if left untreated until a physical visit could occur, could have killed or advanced illnesses toward that end. For many Hoosiers, virtual health care was a lifeline.
It also connected Hoosiers to mental health services during a very trying time. We must strive to make these services accessible to all Hoosiers because, today, in 2023, we still have people who suffer alone with these terrible, destructive diseases.
I credit Gov. Eric Holcomb for recognizing early the need to bridge the digital divide, as well as the General Assembly, which appropriated money and developed guidelines for deploying and prioritizing unserved or underserved communities. Credit also goes to Lt. Gov. Suzanne Crouch and her two predecessors’ focus on rural development and efforts to leverage state and federal money to improve the lives of rural Hoosiers through high-speed internet.
Through their combined efforts, Indiana has deployed millions of dollars’ worth of broadband infrastructure through its Next Level Connections program. But most experts estimate it will take billions more to connect all Hoosiers.
So, if the federal government awards Indiana $868 million for broadband—a possibility under the Broadband Equity Access and Deployment program—it could be a game-changer.
The program—referred to as BEAD—aims to fund broadband projects in unserved and underserved communities. BEAD is administered by the National Telecommunications Information Administration, and to receive an award, Indiana must submit a proposal detailing how we plan to use the money, based on the stipulations in the law. The proposal must also explain how Indiana will meet the program’s goals, which include hiring and compensating qualified workers and ensuring availability of a low-cost broadband option.
The NTIA provided states with 98 pages of guidance about completing and preparing the proposal, defining eligible projects and creating timelines and any information needed to submit an application. Within the guidance are options states can adopt to demonstrate compliance, some of which make sense for Indiana and would fast-track implementation. However, others, like restrictive labor agreements and price controls, will delay or limit deployment.
Anything that delays or limits deployment also delays or limits health care access and is inappropriate for Indiana. Indiana can meet the program’s goals—find qualified Hoosier labor, pay fairly and use market competition to ensure low-cost options. I urge the governor and his team to submit a proposal that deploys BEAD-funded broadband as efficiently as the state’s Next Level Connections program.
Delaying deployment longer than necessary will delay health care access to Hoosiers.•
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Merritt is a former Republican state senator from Indianapolis.
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