The Benton Institute has posted a letter sent by Travis McGlasson, the Chairman of the Board of The Illinois Waterway (ILWW) Ports Commission, to U.S. Senator Dick Durbin warning that changes to the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) Program could delay the riverfront project the commission manages by a year or more and compromise the state’s autonomy.
McGlasson quotes a letter sent by 115 bipartisan state legislators to U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick requesting that any changes by the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) to the program be optional. The NTIA is part of the U.S. Department of Commerce.
“The primary users of the multi-modal transportation system support our farmers. Increased access to adequate broadband directly impacts productivity and ultimately the regional and global supply chain,” the letter reads.
“Improving, without delay, local broadband infrastructure and increasing internet speeds is critical to the success of the farmers, rural communities and the multimodal users of the Illinois Waterway. Rural Illinois residents have gone too long without adequate broadband access.”
The ILWW Ports Commission is a special government district that serves ten rural, riverfront countries in central and north central Illinois.
More than 11.8 million tons of goods and products are shipped in and out of the ILWW Ports Commission, according to the most recent report. The report said that more than 60% of the goods shipped “were attributed to supporting our local farmers.” The last report says that the market value of products sold exceeded $3.2 billion.
The letter from the McGlasson is the latest in a series that show concern about the coming changes to of the BEAD program:
- Earlier this month, Sky Fiber Internet, the largest Nevada BEAD awardee, sent a letter to Lutnick urging him to expedite contract finalization and issue guidance about any changes so construction can begin. Sky Fiber already invested $360,000 in the project, for which it won about $180 million. Engineering is in process and the network has been designed, the company said.
- Also this month, Senator Shelley Capito of West Virginia wrote to Lutnick and suggested that the delays end in July.
- In early April, a group of bipartisan state legislators representing 28 states signed a letter asking Lutnick to permit the NTIA to allow state BEAD plans and digital equity (DE) programs to proceed without delay.
- In March, Maine and Minnesota contacted the Commerce Department concerning the BEAD changes.
