    [House Hearing, 119 Congress]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]

                        WIRED FOR GROWTH: HOW EXPANDING
                      BROADBAND CAN REVITALIZE RURAL SMALL
                                   BUSINESSES
    =======================================================================

                                    HEARING

                                   BEFORE THE

                          COMMITTEE ON SMALL BUSINESS
                                 UNITED STATES
                            HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                        ONE HUNDRED NINETEENTH CONGRESS

                                 FIRST SESSION

                                   __________

                                  HEARING HELD
                               SEPTEMBER 3, 2025

                                   __________

    [GRAPHC NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]

                Small Business Committee Document Number 119-017
                 Available via the GPO Website: www.govinfo.gov
                                   __________

                        U.S. GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE
    61-674                      WASHINGTON : 2026                  --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

                       HOUSE COMMITTEE ON SMALL BUSINESS

                        ROGER WILLIAMS, Texas, Chairman
                            PETE STAUBER, Minnesota
                            DAN MEUSER, Pennsylvania
                             BETH VAN DUYNE, Texas
                               JAKE ELLZEY, Texas
                             MARK ALFORD, Missouri
                             NICK LALOTA, New York
                            BRAD FINSTAD, Minnesota
                              TONY WIED, Wisconsin
                          ROB BRESNAHAN, Pennsylvania
                              BRIAN JACK, Georgia
                             TROY DOWNING, Montana
                 KIMBERLYN KING-HINDS, Northern Marina Islands
                             DEREK SCHMIDT, Kansas
                            JIMMY PATRONIS, Florida
                   NYDIA VELAZQUEZ, New York, Ranking Member
                           MORGAN MCGARVEY, Kentucky
                           HILLARY SCHOLTEN, Michigan
                          LAMONICA MCIVER, New Jersey
                            GIL CISNEROS, California
                           KELLY MORRISON, Minnesota
                            GEORGE LATIMER, New York
                             DEREK TRAN, California
                           LATEEFAH SIMON, California
                           JOHNNY OLSZEWSKI, Maryland
                            HERB CONAWAY, New Jersey
                        MAGGIE GOODLANDER, New Hampshire

                     Lauren Holmes, Majority Staff Director
                     Melissa Jung, Minority Staff Director

                               C O N T E N T S

                               OPENING STATEMENTS

                                                                       Page
    Hon. Roger Williams..............................................     1
    Hon. Nydia Velazquez.............................................     2

                                   WITNESSES

    Ms. Kristi Westbrock, Chief Executive Officer and General
      Manager, CTC, Brainerd, MN.....................................     5
    Mr. Jimmy Todd, Chief Executive Officer and General Manager, Nex-
      Tech, Lenora, KS...............................................     7
    Mr. Jeff Vander Werff, Owner, VWF, LLC, Kent City, MI............     8
    Ms. Karen Jackson-Furman, Chief Executive Officer, West Kentucky
      & Tennessee Telecommunications Cooperative, Mayfield, KY.......     9

                                    APPENDIX

    Prepared Statements:
        Ms. Kristi Westbrock, Chief Executive Officer and General
          Manager, CTC, Brainerd, MN.................................    31
        Mr. Jimmy Todd, Chief Executive Officer and General Manager,
          Nex-Tech, Lenora, KS.......................................    39
        Mr. Jeff Vander Werff, Owner, VWF, LLC, Kent City, MI........    43
        Ms. Karen Jackson-Furman, Chief Executive Officer, West
          Kentucky & Tennessee Telecommunications Cooperative,
          Mayfield, KY...............................................    45
    Questions and Answers for the Record:
        Question from Hon. Scholten to Mr. Jeff Vander Werff.........    54
        Questions from Hon. Scholten to Ms. Karen Jackson-Furman.....    55
    Additional Material for the Record:
        APT Letter...................................................    58
        Competitive Carriers Association (CCA) Letter................    67
        Defense Credit Union Council (DCUC) Letter...................    70
        Fiber Broadband Association Letter...........................    74
        NH Delegation Letter.........................................    77
        Small Business Majority Letter...............................    79
        Starlink Capacity Letter.....................................    82
        Western Governors' Association (WGA) Letter..................    88

     WIRED FOR GROWTH: HOW EXPANDING BROADBAND CAN REVITALIZE RURAL SMALL
                                   BUSINESSES

                                  ----------

                          WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 3, 2025

                      House of Representatives,
                   Committee on Small Business,
                                                        Washington, DC.
        The Committee met, pursuant to call, at 10:07 a.m., in Room
    2360, Rayburn House Office Building, Hon. Roger Williams
    [chairman of the Committee] presiding.
        Present: Representatives Williams, Stauber, Meuser, Van
    Duyne, Ellzey, Alford, Finstad, Wied, Downing, Velazquez,
    McGarvey, Scholten, Cisneros, Morrison, Tran, Simon, Olszewski,
    and Goodlander.
        Chairman WILLIAMS. Before we get started, I want to
    recognize Representative Cisneros of the great State of
    California to lead us in the pledge and the prayer. Would you
    stand.
        Mr. CISNEROS. Please place your hand over your heart.
        ALL. I pledge allegiance to the Flag of the United States
    of America, and to the Republic for which it stands, one
    nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for
    all.
        Mr. CISNEROS. Dear Lord, I ask that you give this
    Committee, this Congress, and our nation guidance so that we
    may bring justice and do the work of the people, for the
    benefit of the people.
        For that, I pray. In the name of the Father, Son, and Holy
    Spirit. Amen.
        Chairman WILLIAMS. Good morning everyone. Before we get
    started, we are going to have--so you are not worried about
    what you said or what you did, we will have people moving in
    and out a lot today because there are a lot of other hearings
    going on. So if somebody gets up after you talk, don't worry
    about it. They are heading--but they will be back. So I want
    you to be aware of that.
        And I want to also say good morning to everyone, and I now
    call the Committee on Small Business to order. Without
    objection, the Chair is authorized to declare a recess of the
    Committee at any time.
        I now recognize myself for an opening statement. Welcome to
    today's hearing entitled: Wired for Growth, How Expanding
    Broadband Can Revitalize Rural Small Businesses.
        I want to begin by thanking our witnesses for being here
    today and access to reliable, affordable broadband is not a
    luxury. It is a necessity for small businesses, families,
    students, and communities across America. It is rural areas, in
    particular, that broadband can mean the difference between
    growth and stagnation and between new opportunities and being
    left behind.
        For years, we have heard the frustration from rural
    entrepreneurs who cannot compete on a level playing field
    because of slower, nonexistent internet service. They cannot
    expand their market, streamline operations, or use new
    technologies. That divide is real and holds back small
    businesses and the communities they serve.
        This is why I have been proud to introduce legislation over
    the years that would eliminate the digital divide. Further,
    broadband deployment must be free from political interference.
    That is why I am encouraged by the steps taken by the Trump
    administration to reduce red tape, lower cost, and accelerate
    broadband deployment, ultimately improving connective
    opportunities.
        But cutting through regulatory burdens that slowed
    investment and innovation for too long, the Trump
    administration is ensuring that rural communities finally get
    connected. President Trump promised to put America first,
    ensuring every American has the tools to thrive in the modern
    economy.
        So today's hearing is about listening to small businesses
    and rural providers who are experiencing this challenge. As
    legislators and advocates for main street in Washington, we
    need a better understanding of what is working, where the
    roadblocks remain, and how we can continue to build on the
    progress for small business owners, broadband providers, and
    local leaders.
        Our Committee is committed to ensuring that rural, small
    businesses have the same opportunities as those in our cities
    and suburbs. Broadband is a critical infrastructure, workforce,
    development, education, and healthcare. Most importantly, it is
    freedom, freedom to innovate, freedom to compete and succeed.
        I want to thank our witnesses again for joining us today.
    You have come a long way. And I look forward to the discussion
    ahead as we work to ensure that rural America is not left
    behind in the 21st century economy.
        So with that, I would like to distinguish our Ranking
    Member and acknowledge her for being here and leading New York,
    Ms. Velazquez.
        Ms. VELAZQUEZ. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, for calling this
    crucial hearing.
        Rural small businesses play a central role in local
    economies, accounting for nearly 85 percent of firms and 54
    percent of jobs in rural counties. However, they face unique
    problems requiring unique attention, one of which is access to
    broadband or high-speed internet service, essential activities
    that many Americans take for granted, like videoconferencing,
    online banking, e-commerce, and most importantly, reliance on
    the high-internet speeds and capacity made possible by today's
    broadband infrastructure.
        It is this technology that makes new ideas and companies
    soar across the nation and the world literally at the speed of
    light. Over one in four rural Americans have not been connected
    to broadband internet infrastructure. The reason this gap
    exists can be found in the issues rural telephone deployment
    encountered about a century ago.
        Put simply, when faced with fewer customers per square mile
    and more difficult geography than American cities, large
    corporations find it less profitable to invest in rural
    infrastructure, be it phones, electricity, water, or broadband,
    and put their money instead in more densely populated easier to
    reach places.
        This is why government spending is sorely needed to fill
    the holes in private spending. The previous administration made
    the single largest investment in this space with a Bipartisan
    Infrastructure Law through the Broadband Equity Access and
    Deployment, or BEAD, program. BEAD is a generational $42.5
    billion investment in high-speed internet service nationwide,
    specifically targeting the rural and tribal areas underserved
    by private industry and creating jobs in those areas to install
    and maintain broadband infrastructure.
        These projects were by law to be powered mainly by fiber-
    optic cables, the fastest and most reliable broadband
    technology currently in existence. However, the Trump
    administration abruptly issued a policy notice upending the
    BEAD program, requiring grant applicants to quickly rewrite and
    resubmit their proposals within mere weeks.
        The biggest change to the program overturns its emphasis on
    fiber-optic cables, the best technology around, in favor of an
    untested technology cornered by Elon Musk's satellites, citing
    cost savings. I am concerned that the administration is missing
    the realities of satellites, namely, that it cannot effectively
    match the speed, reliability, and capacity offered by fiber.
        I will jump at the opportunity to make BEAD projects more
    economical and improve this once-in-a-lifetime investment. It
    seems like this change will make BEAD focus more on cheap work
    than on good work. In other words, President Trump isn't
    lowering this cost for rural America. He is selling rural
    America short.
        Rural small businesses deserve the same high-speed, high-
    quality internet service as any other business in the country
    and the world. That means the playing field we give them must
    be truly level.
        It is time for BEAD to honor the on-the-ground perspective
    clamoring for fiber projects. We must also consider the views
    of America's territory.
        Mr. Chairman, I request unanimous consent to insert into
    the record a written statement of the Puerto Rico
    Telecommunications Alliance.
        Chairman WILLIAMS. So moved.
        Ms. VELAZQUEZ. With that, I look forward to having a robust
    conversation today and thank all the witnesses for their
    presence.
        I yield back.
        Chairman WILLIAMS. The lady yields back.
        And now I would like to recognize Mr. Stauber from the
    great State of Minnesota to introduce his constituent, Ms.
    Kristi Westbrock, testifying before us today.
        Mr. STAUBER. Thank you very much, Mr. Chair, for the
    opportunity to introduce the Minnesota witness this morning. I
    am pleased to recognize Kristi Westbrock, who resides in
    Merrifield, Minnesota, located in my district, with her husband
    and daughter.
        Kristi has served as a leader at Consolidated
    Telecommunications Company, headquartered in Brainerd,
    Minnesota, for over 17 years. Her work has been instrumental in
    expanding broadband access to underserved communities,
    reinforcing her passion for rural America and ensuring that all
    communities, regardless of geography, have access to reliable
    and affordable technology.
        With a strong voice in the telecommunications industry and
    heartfelt commitment to community impact, Kristi continues to
    lead with vision, integrity, and a commitment to making a
    difference, which is why I am pleased--so pleased to have her
    join this Committee today.
        Kristi, I thank you for being here, and I look forward to
    hearing from you.
        Chairman WILLIAMS. Thank you, Mr. Stauber.
        And our next witness is Mr. Jimmy Todd. Mr. Todd is the
    chief executive officer and general manager of Nex-Tech based
    in Lenora, Kansas. Since 2014, he has overseen the company's
    operations and strategic growth while also serving as Chairman
    of Nex-Tech's wireless and holding board positions with the
    Fiber Broadband Association and other organizations.
        Mr. Todd previously served as an infantry officer in the
    Army National Guard, as an aviation electronics technician in
    the U.S. Navy, and thank you for that service. He earned a
    bachelor of arts in social sciences from Chapman University and
    a master of business administration from the University of
    Portland.
        Our next witness here is Mr. Jeff Vander Werff. Correct,
    Jeff? Mr. Vander Werff is fourth-generation farmer and the
    other of VWF, LLC, from Kent City, Michigan. He oversees
    precision agriculture and agronomics on the farm focusing on
    the data-driven practices that have positioned his operation as
    a community leader.
        In addition to farming, he is also co-owner of the
    multilocation agricultural retail business that serves much of
    Michigan. Here, they offer specialized support for everything
    from apples to zucchini and crops in between. Does that taste
    good when you mix all that together?
        Mr. Vander Werff is an American Farm Bureau Federation
    Member and studied crop and soil science at Michigan State
    University. And so thank you for that.
        And I now recognize the Ranking Member from New York, Ms.
    Velazquez, to briefly introduce our last witness appearing
    before us today.
        Ms. VELAZQUEZ. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
        Ms. Karen Jackson-Furman is the CEO of West Kentucky and
    Tennessee Telecommunications Cooperative, or WK&T, a rural co-
    op serving West Kentucky, Northwest Tennessee, Southern
    Illinois and Northern Alabama, founded in 1951 to connect rural
    Kentuckians and Tennesseans to telephones. WK&T now also
    delivers high-speed broadband to over roughly 2,500 miles and
    more than 33,000 network connections.
        Ms. Jackson-Furman has over 31 years of experience in
    telecom co-ops, including nine years at WK&T, holding roles
    like CEO, CFO, and COO. As CEO, she has prioritized new
    strategic partnerships in pursuing state and federal grants to
    expand access to unserved and underserved communities.
        She holds a bachelor's degree from Southeast Missouri State
    University and an MBA from Southern Illinois University
    Edwardsville.
        Welcome, Ms. Jackson. Thank you for being here.
        Chairman WILLIAMS. The lady yields back. Again, I want to
    thank all of you for being here today.
        Before we recognize the witnesses, I would like to remind
    them--we have got some rules around here. I am going to tell
    you the rules. They are not hard, okay?
        I would like to remind them that their oral testimony is
    restricted to five minutes in length. We want to stay with
    that. If you see a light turn red in front of you, it means
    your five minutes is up, and that you need to conclude, and you
    should wrap it up. Okay?
        So with that in mind, I now recognize Ms. Westbrock for her
    five-minute opening remarks.

     STATEMENTS OF KRISTI WESTBROCK, CEO AND GENERAL MANAGER, CTC,
     BRAINERD, MINNESOTA; JIMMY TODD, CEO AND GENERAL MANAGER, NEX-
      TECH; JEFF VANDER WERFF, AGRA BUSINESS OWNER. MICHIGAN; AND
        KAREN JACKSON-FURMAN, CEO, WEST KENTUCKY AND TENNESSEE
                    TELECOMMUNICATIONS COOPERATIVE;

                     STATEMENT OF KRISTI WESTBROCK

        Ms. WESTBROCK. Chairman Williams, Ranking Member Velazquez
    and Members of the Committee, thank you for the opportunity to
    participate in today's hearing which focuses on the importance
    of rural broadband connectivity and how it can revitalize small
    business.
        I am Kristi Westbrock. I am the CEO and general manager of
    CTC, headquartered in Brainerd, Minnesota. I am a native of
    Browns Valley, Minnesota, with a population of 505. I grew up
    in a small town where my graduating class was 26 people, and
    everyone knew everyone by their first name. That grounded my
    passion for rural America.
        Today, I live in Merrifield, Minnesota, with my husband
    Mike and my daughter Emily. I have been with CTC for 17 years,
    and I have over 25 years of industry experience.
        CTC is a full-service technology adviser serving Central
    and Northern Minnesota for the past 75 years. With our fiber
    network, we offer our members fast, reliable internet, phone,
    TV services, as well as business phone systems and IT systems.
    CTC is a cooperative, and we live by our mission to empower our
    members, employees, and communities through exceptional service
    and life-changing technology solutions for a sustainable
    future.
        As today's hearing will hopefully underscore, fast, high-
    capacity broadband in rural areas promote small business growth
    and creates jobs. For example, Leedrick Studios, a cutting-edge
    video production and marketing company in Hibbing, Minnesota,
    saw an immediate boost in its process and its production
    efficiency after having a robust fiber connection. Leedrick had
    previously served with spotty, less-reliable connection, but we
    were able to help his company achieve more and receive more
    from its clients.
        Jim Lee from Leedrick studios has stated, in our fast-paced
    industry where every second counts and digital connectivity is
    paramount, CTC's unwavering reliability has been a game
    changer. It is the bedrock upon which we have built our
    enhanced operational efficiency. CTC hasn't just met our
    expectations; they have redefined them. Our transition has been
    transformative.
        This is just one example of showing how we have been able
    to contribute to our community and how a reliable connection
    can impact rural broadband, rural businesses, and economic
    growth and vitality. However, we have more work to do.
        This is where public policy plays such a key role in
    helping build and sustain broadband in rural markets that would
    not otherwise justify such investments for ongoing operations.
        For example, there has long been bipartisan recognition for
    years that the lengthy review process is slowing down broadband
    deployment, particularly in regions with short construction
    seasons. In Minnesota, even a brief delay can push projects
    back by years. These setbacks increase costs, as unpredictable
    timelines make it more challenging to secure contractors and
    maintain our work schedule.
        Grant programs play a key role in rural broadband
    deployment, and I provide specific examples in my written
    testimony of programs that CTC has leveraged, as well as
    thoughts on where the BEAD program is headed.
        Last week the Minnesota Office of Broadband unveiled their
    draft plan for public comment. CTC is expected to receive
    approximately 20 million of the BEAD funding, along with our
    members' capital investment of 6 million to build out 2,209
    locations with 35 of those being small businesses.
        To be clear, grants by themselves are not enough to keep
    rural America connected. It ultimately takes a mix of community
    commitment and private capital to build networks as well. And
    in many rural areas where terrific broadband exists today,
    those networks were not built by leveraging grants but, rather,
    through a mix of private capital and loans and support from the
    FCC's Universal Service Fund.
        In fact, the continued operation and sustainability of
    network efficiency and affordable services in rural areas can
    present a significant challenge. This is where USF has its
    greatest impact. Even if federal funding is available to help
    with construction capital, we still need to recover our
    matching investments, keep our rates affordable for consumers
    and small business, and maintain our networks.
        As I explain in my written testimony, while USF has been
    highly successful, we need to modernize how this program is
    funded. And we appreciate the work of bipartisan lawmakers from
    the U.S. Senate and House in considering such reforms.
        I thank this Committee and interest in all these issues and
    look forward to working with you to ensure all Americans
    experience the benefits of broadband over the best possible
    networks both today and for decades to come. Thank you.
        Chairman WILLIAMS. Great on your timing.
        Ms. WESTBROCK. Thank you.
        Chairman WILLIAMS. And if you hear me do this, that is to
    remind you to move on. Okay?
        All right. I now recognize Mr. Todd for his five-minute
    opening remarks.

                        STATEMENT OF JIMMY TODD

        Mr. TODD. Chairman Williams, Ranking Member Velazquez,
    Committee Members, I am Jimmy Todd, CEO and general manager for
    Nex-Tech, a rural cooperative serving 33,000 customers across
    11,000 square miles in Kansas.
        I have been in the telecom and technology industries for
    about 40 years now and have spent a lot of years advocating for
    fiber broadband, precision agriculture, and USF reform. I have
    had appointments to the Kansas NG911 Coordinating Council, Team
    Kansas on the Department of Commerce, and the FCC's Precision
    Ag Task Force, where I was a co-author of the 2023 report.
        I am a proud veteran of 21 years with the U.S. Navy, U.S.
    Army, and Army National Guard.
        And I would like to share that, as we know, broadband is
    not a luxury. It is an essential economic infrastructure, and
    robust connectivity helps our rural communities attract new
    businesses, retain businesses that we have, support
    entrepreneurs, and help keep our young people in our rural
    communities.
        For agriculture, fiber infrastructure enables precision
    tools and ag tech that can serve resources, improve yields, and
    strengthen the supply chain for food.
        I would like to share a quick success story about McCarty
    Dairy, who over a decade ago reached out to us. They were eight
    miles outside of our cooperative footprint, and yet, they
    needed fiber connectivity to secure a contract with a national
    yogurt brand.
        Now, between where we served and their area, there was no
    one. We looked at this as an economic development opportunity,
    and we figured out how to make it work.
        With that robust fiber connectivity, they are able to
    monitor the health of 32,000 cows daily. The processing and
    condensing plants are controlled through fiber optics. The
    robots are used to milk 10,000 cows a day, and the impact is
    jobs created, family livelihoods sustained, and communities
    strengthened.
        Farming has transformed a great deal from the days where
    the single source of truth was the Farmer's Almanac to today's
    ag technology and data availability. Sensors, automated
    irrigation, drones, robotic labor all require fiber last-mile
    infrastructure, and that fiber last-mile infrastructure enables
    that LAST ACRE network that connects all of these activities
    going on in today's farms and ranches.
        There are many success stories that I can share, but
    challenges continue to remain. Burdensome permitting processes
    delay builds, which add to costs and discourage investments.
    Congress can help by streamlining permitting so rural America
    doesn't fall behind.
        Nex-Tech was the first in the nation to bring fiber to a
    rural exchange. And despite early criticism of gold plating, we
    persevered and continued with that focus. Fiber is the do-it-
    once, do-it-right technology, and it supports smart ag, it
    supports AI, telehealth, remote education--and will for
    decades--innovation in the future.
        According to the Center for Rural Innovation, rural
    counties with broadband adoption above 80 percent see 213
    percent higher business growth, 10 percent higher self-
    employment growth, 18 percent higher per capita income growth,
    and 44 percent higher GDP growth. Broadband adoption directly
    drives entrepreneurship, jobs, and community growth.
        Millions of Americans, however, are still unserved or
    underserved. I urge Congress to ensure federal broadband
    funding continues to prioritize fiber, the most reliable,
    scalable, and cost-effective technology.
        Further, you know, if possible, cut the red tape so that we
    can see permitting reform, as well as USF reform because that
    will help rural America faster. Finally, ensuring affordability
    for all Americans is going to remain important.
        Thank you for the opportunity with the Small Business
    Committee here for this hearing and the opportunity to share
    with you. I look forward to your questions.
        Chairman WILLIAMS. Great job. I now recognize Mr. Vander
    Werff for his five-minute opening remarks.

                     STATEMENT OF JEFF VANDER WERFF

        Mr. VANDER WERFF. Good morning, Chairman Williams, Ranking
    Member Velazquez, Members of the Committee. Thank you for
    having us.
        My name is Jeff Vander Werff. I am visiting you this
    morning from the State of Michigan where my family and I
    operate an agribusiness and farming operation near the town of
    Sparta.
        Like many Americans, we depend on reliable internet service
    as a part of our daily lives, and in the wake of the COVID-19
    pandemic, that need has only become more acute, and I want to
    thank you for the opportunity to share some thoughts on this
    topic.
        As a small business owner and farmer, the internet is a
    part of our daily lives. From the connectivity of our precision
    agriculture software to the use of cloud-based billing systems
    for our agribusiness, reliable high-speed internet is a
    necessity we have to have. The lack of infrastructure, however,
    has made that more challenging as our connected world continues
    to evolve.
        It seems a weekly occurrence in our community Facebook
    groups that someone is asking if there are better internet
    options available for their homes and businesses. And, sadly,
    they are offered only one or two providers in the area, and
    coverage is less than ideal.
        Our family has tried to be a part of that solution for
    years by installing and hosting broadband internet at our
    farms, utilizing our physical elevation, as well as our 130-
    foot grain systems to boost signals and help more folks reach
    high-speed fixed point internet.
        While private industry is making strides every day to
    improve this, there is a lot of work to be done. We often hear
    the phrase the last mile when describing services in rural
    areas, whether it be the Postal Service or Amazon or high-speed
    internet, and this is where the need is greatest.
        And while innovations such as Starlink have helped
    tremendously, they often are cost-prohibitive, putting a
    further burden on rural America where poverty levels can often
    match those of our most populated cities. I do believe there is
    a better answer.
        Growing up, I often heard my grandparents talk about how
    life-changing the Rural Electrification Act of the 1930s was
    and how much life on their farms and rural communities
    improved. Today we are at a similar inflection point with part
    of our country living in the modern era while rural America
    lags behind.
        This is just another contributing factor in the decline of
    our rural towns and the small town America that we all love so
    much. It isn't just about businesses or farms being able to
    access internet service. It is about lost opportunities for
    rural Americans in an increasingly digital world. From
    education and job opportunities to simple things like trying to
    order a tractor part, families are being forced to make hard
    choices when it comes to where they live and where they want to
    raise a family.
        And the increase in online virtual work has made it more
    difficult for young Americans to plant their roots in the
    hometown that their families have lived in for generations,
    further hollowing out middle America.
        I want to thank you again for your time this morning to
    discuss this topic, and I certainly welcome any and all
    questions from the Committee. Thank you.
        Chairman WILLIAMS. Thank you very much.
        I now recognize Ms. Jackson-Furman for her five-minute
    opening remarks.

                   STATEMENT OF KAREN JACKSON-FURMAN

        Ms. JACKSON-FURMAN. Chairman Williams, Ranking Member
    Velazquez, and Members of the Committee, thank you for the
    opportunity to testify today on the important topic of how
    expanding broadband access can ensure small businesses are able
    to thrive.
        My name is Karen Jackson-Furman, and I am CEO of West
    Kentucky and Tennessee Telecommunications Cooperative, a local
    provider serving rural parts of Kentucky, Tennessee, Illinois,
    and Alabama. We serve more than 33,000 customers covering
    approximately 2500 square miles, and employ 109 people from the
    community. I am also here representing WTA, Advocates for Rural
    Broadband.
        WK&T will be celebrating its 75th anniversary next year. We
    got our start with a loan from USDA's Rural Electrification
    Administration to provide telephone service to the citizens of
    several counties in Kentucky and Tennessee. Since then, we have
    expanded and upgraded our operations. Today we provide 100
    percent fiber connectivity to our customers.
        High-speed internet continues to transform our world,
    including rural areas, and is a necessity for full
    participation in modern life and economic competitiveness. WK&T
    isn't just a residential internet provider. We are also a small
    business that provides vital services to more than 1,000 other
    small businesses. Its critical infrastructure is vital for
    rural communities and small businesses.
        For example, Ralph Brothers Farms in Graves County,
    Kentucky, has 24 poultry barns connected to WK&T's fiber
    internet service. The brothers are able to monitor the barns on
    a mobile app on their cell phones at any hour of the day and
    recognize problems immediately.
        In another example, Michael Warren and Nassar Nassar of
    Savant Learning Systems in Weakley County, Tennessee, worked
    with Tennessee's Bethel University to develop one of the first
    online academic programs allowing police officers to complete
    their continuing education and required training without having
    to travel, saving both time and money. They say that their WK&T
    fiber connection makes all the difference in what they do.
        These are just a couple examples, but without a robust
    broadband connection, it is virtually impossible for a small
    business to make it in today's world. And if small businesses
    aren't making it, America's overall economy suffers.
        Last year the White House noted that small businesses are
    responsible for more than 40 percent of America's economic
    output and two-thirds of net new jobs, and it is not just any
    connection that matters, but one that can support high
    bandwidth applications.
        At WK&T, we have chosen to deploy fiber because we want to
    make sure our communities are not just getting by today with
    good-enough service, but that they have a high-speed, robust,
    scalable broadband network that will provide opportunities
    decades from now.
        And, as shared in my written testimony, connectivity to our
    buried fiber network during the destructive EF-4 long-track
    tornado in December of 2021 was never interrupted, allowing
    emergency services to assist and potentially save lives.
        I would be missing an opportunity if I did not give credit
    to several important federal broadband programs, without which
    WK&T would not be able to do what we do. We are able to build,
    operate, and upgrade our network primarily because of the
    Federal Universal Service Fund administered by the Federal
    Communications Commission.
        The principles of reasonably comparable service at
    reasonably comparable rates among urban and rural areas across
    the country has guided U.S. telecom policy for decades. The USF
    covers a portion of the costs of our network construction, but
    also ongoing operations, maintenance, and upgrades so we can
    keep our network on pace with what Americans in more urban
    areas enjoy.
        Thankfully, the constitutionality of the FCC's USF program
    was recently upheld by the Supreme Court. In addition, grants
    from programs like USDA's Reconnect Program created by Congress
    in 2018 and now the BEAD program have and will provide us
    opportunities to expand our network and services.
        Lastly, as I alluded to earlier, having a broadband
    connection is incredibly important, but it is also important
    that it be affordable. As Congress looks to modernize USF,
    finding a solution to the affordability question must be part
    of that discussion.
        I would like to extend an invitation to each of you to come
    see us. We would love to introduce you to our small town
    business owners that rely on high-speed internet to run their
    successful businesses while living in an area that they choose
    to live in.
        Thank you for the opportunity to testify, and I look
    forward to answering any questions you may have.
        Chairman WILLIAMS. Great job.
        I will now move to the Member questions under the five-
    minute rule, and I will now recognize myself for five minutes.
        Mr. Vander Werff, as a small business owner and farmer
    myself, I understand that the right technology is crucial to
    precision agriculture.
        So my question is, how has limited or unreliable broadband
    impacted your day-to-day operations?
        Mr. VANDER WERFF. Well, thank you for that question, Mr.
    Chairman.
        The simple answer is we can't operate without it. From, as
    some of the other folks described, complicated ag operations,
    precision ag, monitoring our grain systems, things like that
    require good, reliable, high-speed connectivity.
        From our agribusiness perspective, we have had to
    deliberately look to locate facilities in areas that have
    access to cable internet. If we aren't able to do that, then we
    are stuck using fixed point wireless or satellite systems, but
    it just increases our costs much more greatly on that.
        So it is definitely something that is a very, very critical
    part of the overall picture of operating a successful
    agricultural business today.
        Chairman WILLIAMS. Thank you. Now, this question is for
    both Ms. Westbrock and Mr. Todd.
        Rural communities aren't one size fits all when it comes to
    connectivity. In your view, how important is it for federal
    broadband programs to take a technology neutral approach, such
    as allowing fiber, wireless, satellite, and other solutions to
    compete based on what best fits each community's needs? Ms.
    Westbrock?
        Ms. WESTBROCK. Thank you, Mr. Williams. Yes. So we believe
    that there is room for all technologies in networks, especially
    when you are looking at how we can potentially serve
    communities.
        But in my professional opinion, fiber broadband is the
    answer mostly because we know that it is scalable, and with the
    AI explosion that we will see, the networks are going to have
    to be that robust. I also want to make sure that in the BEAD
    program that the dollars are spent well and that we are not
    back asking for additional dollars because one of the
    technologies didn't stand up for the long haul.
        I believe in doing that with our taxpayers' dollars and
    making the best investment when we can.
        Chairman WILLIAMS. Good. Thank you. Mr. Todd, you want to
    add to that?
        Mr. TODD. Yes, Chairman. Thank you for the question. And I
    would agree with Ms. Westbrock in that fiber is the preference,
    and here is why. It is a generational investment.
        When using federal funds to make an investment for
    broadband connectivity, it is something that we want to stand
    for generations. You know, we go back to the early, mid 1990s
    with fiber infrastructure and it is still operating today.
    However, we have used other technologies that in short periods
    of time have to be fully replaced.
        And so when you look at the reliability and the long-term
    generational use of the investment, in my opinion, fiber is the
    preference.
        Chairman WILLIAMS. Let me move on, Mr. Todd. How do your
    companies adapt their deployment strategies to account for
    unique challenges of serving sparsely populated rural areas
    where higher cost and terrain or geography may limit certain
    technologies?
        Mr. TODD. So we have been very fortunate to leverage
    funding through grants from the federal government, as well as
    the State Government. We have been able to expand our network
    out to reach our neighbors.
        So beyond our cooperative footprint, we have--you know, the
    network is already in place. So being able to expand there is
    less costly than if we were start a greenfield build in a
    particular area.
        So we continue edging out as we find funding to be able to
    reach those sparsely populated areas because I am in a very ag-
    heavy area. So ranches and farms are the biggest businesses in
    Northwest Kansas, North Central Kansas. So with that, we expand
    fiber to reach those businesses.
        Chairman WILLIAMS. Thank you. Ms. Westbrock, as a broadband
    provider, what tools or approaches do you find most effective
    in keeping service affordable for rural communities?
        Ms. WESTBROCK. Yes. So from an affordability standpoint, we
    specifically were users of the ACP program and find it
    extremely beneficial during COVID. And so we--keeping it
    affordable and giving the best technology solutions, we have to
    also leverage our USF program, the grants that we get, all of
    those pieces because that drives, too, the affordability and
    the ability to offer the best services to our members for that
    price.
        Chairman WILLIAMS. In limited time, Mr. Todd, what
    challenges have you faced with current mapping efforts?
        Mr. TODD. With mapping, they continue to improve, but they
    tend to be a snapshot in time. Not all information presented is
    always accurate. It is probably worse on the mobile wireless
    side than it is on the fixed side.
        But there are improvements that we have seen in recent
    years, and we hope to see continued improvements in mapping.
        Chairman WILLIAMS. All right. Thank you. I yield back my
    time.
        And now I recognize the Ranking Member for five minutes of
    questions.
        Ms. VELAZQUEZ. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
        Ms. Jackson-Furman, why doesn't rural broadband receive as
    much investment from private industry as more urban areas?
        Ms. JACKSON-FURMAN. Because it is a very high cost area to
    serve, and it is very sparsely populated. For instance, we
    serve 13 customers per square mile, and that drives the cost up
    and makes it very expensive and less profitable.
        Ms. VELAZQUEZ. So there is no question that fairer funding
    is needed to fill the gap?
        Ms. JACKSON-FURMAN. That is right.
        Ms. VELAZQUEZ. Ms. Jackson-Furman, can you briefly walk us
    through the pros and cons of using fiber and satellite for
    broadband?
        Ms. JACKSON-FURMAN. Sure. Thank you. Fiber is scalable, it
    is reliable, and it is faster than satellite broadband. Right
    now, the up-front cost to deploy, I know, is a point of
    contention right now. But once the fiber is in the ground, it
    is scalable because just the electronics on the end of the
    fiber need to be upgraded to provide the needed bandwidth for
    the future.
        Satellite deployment, we have--they share spectrum. There
    is only so much spectrum. Even if you launch more satellites,
    it is a shared spectrum resource amongst different spectrum--or
    satellite providers. So the throughput is not what it is with
    fiber.
        And then we have the issue of needing to replenish the
    constellations every approximately five years with satellite,
    and there are unknown environmental concerns with those
    satellites coming back down and different things like that that
    we don't understand yet.
        Ms. VELAZQUEZ. In fact, a recent study finds that
    satellites fall below broadband standards when more than a
    handful of users connect within a square mile.
        Mr. Chairman, I ask unanimous consent to insert this study
    into the record.
        Chairman WILLIAMS. So moved.
        Ms. VELAZQUEZ. Ms. Jackson-Furman, should satellites be the
    exception, not the norm in bid projects?
        Ms. JACKSON-FURMAN. Yes, ma'am, I agree with that. I think
    that satellite has a place. Many times it is on things--mobile,
    RVs, in boats, maybe very remote hunting lodges where there
    isn't a lot of infrastructure, which those are far and few
    between.
        But I think there is a place for all the different
    technologies. But whenever fiber is available and the funding
    for fiber is available, absolutely, it should be fiber.
        Ms. VELAZQUEZ. Why is it important to have a variety of
    broadband programs serving different needs?
        Ms. JACKSON-FURMAN. The programs that I am familiar with,
    Reconnect, Community Connect, BEAD, USF, they all have
    different purposes. I think it is important that they not
    overlap, but for instance, Reconnect, that is a--that helps
    with the capital infrastructure cost, but also has a loan
    component that might be beneficial for some companies to
    utilize.
        BEAD, that is 100 percent capital infrastructure. But USF,
    it is unique in that it has got the component for maintenance,
    upgrades, the long-term operation support. So we need the
    different funding mechanisms to keep rural America connected.
        Ms. VELAZQUEZ. And it will help expand rural broadband
    beyond what a single program could provide?
        Ms. JACKSON-FURMAN. Yes, that is correct. I agree.
        Ms. VELAZQUEZ. How does the Universal Service Fund, USF,
    keep your rates affordable and your model sustainable?
        Ms. JACKSON-FURMAN. Well, it does in that it keeps rates
    affordable because of the subsidies that we receive. It is
    cross-subsidization, so that the urban areas and the rural
    areas can have comparable services for comparable rates.
        And so anybody in this room that has a cell phone helps
    contribute to that fund. And then the funds are redistributed
    so that rural America can benefit and stay connected just like
    urban areas. So it is paramount in keeping rates affordable.
        Ms. VELAZQUEZ. Thank you. In June, the Supreme Court
    rejected a challenge to the USF funding mechanism, letting the
    FCC continue its programs.
        What does that mean for co-ops like yours?
        Ms. JACKSON-FURMAN. It means everything. It allows us to
    stay on cutting-edge technology. It allows us to keep our
    networks upgraded, maintained, expansion potentially. It is the
    difference between operating and not operating.
        Ms. VELAZQUEZ. Thank you. Mr. Chairman, I yield back.
        Chairman WILLIAMS. The lady yields back.
        I now recognize Mr. Meuser from the great State of
    Pennsylvania for five minutes.
        Mr. MEUSER. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, very much. And thanks
    very much to our witnesses. Certainly, a very important
    subject.
        I travel my district, I travel my state, and sadly, here in
    2025, maybe 20 percent of my district has very poor broadband
    service, and it is ridiculous. There is a lot of money going
    towards it, federal money, state money. The management of it is
    awful.
        I know in Pennsylvania, our current Governor set up an
    initiative three years ago--two years ago that sounded good but
    really accomplished nothing. Nothing has improved, but I am not
    just going to blame--blame our State leadership. I mean, this
    has been the case--this should have been improved five years
    ago, ten years ago.
        So that is why--now, Ms. Westbrock, in your State of
    Minnesota, let me just ask. On a scale of 1 to 10--because a
    lot of money goes towards this, I mean, $1.5 billion.
        And I know how our Democrat colleagues say we just need
    more money, just give us more money. That is great. Okay. But
    nothing is improving with the money that has gone.
        Now, there has been $1.5 billion sent to Pennsylvania over
    the last years, and, again, zero improvement. How is Kansas
    developing--excuse me, Minnesota.
        Ms. WESTBROCK. Yeah. So, in Minnesota I would say that our
    Office of Broadband has done a remarkable job in our State
    grant programs. I believe they have been allocated extremely
    well, although I will say that there are providers that take
    the money, and then they don't build out the--they say they are
    going to do it, and then three years later, people are still
    waiting for that.
        Mr. MEUSER. They go where the money is.
        Ms. WESTBROCK. Absolutely.
        Mr. MEUSER. They can do more--right. So the language is
    written terribly for rural broadband. It is not restrictive
    enough. So you give it a good rating. Go on.
        Ms. WESTBROCK. I give our office a good rating. I would say
    this, that we have to be very careful, again, of who is getting
    that money. If you look across the country in rural communities
    where there are cooperatives and family owns that are local to
    those communities, that money is being spent correctly.
        When you start looking at how it goes into certain
    corporations, that is when things start to--start to stray a
    little, in all honesty, and so----
        Mr. MEUSER. Thank you. Mr. Todd, same question.
        Mr. TODD. In Kansas, the KOBD has managed federal funds
    that have been allocated to the State, and I would say a
    majority of those programs are--projects have been fiber-based.
        Now, I won't say that all of them have been fiber-based. I
    would like to say that most were the case. The fiber
    infrastructure is what will last, and that is what makes the
    difference.
        Mr. MEUSER. Is that a lot more money?
        Mr. TODD. It does cost more money, yes, sir. And in order
    to reach customers that are not connected, I understand the
    need for fixed wireless or other means, just as was described
    earlier.
        But at the end of the day, whenever a fiber project can be
    funded, that makes the difference.
        Mr. MEUSER. Mr. Werff, I am going to get to you in a
    second. What else is holding it back besides the misallocation?
        You know, there are some that say the prevailing wage
    issues in states like Pennsylvania, some of the deregulation
    that is taking place under the Trump administration should
    improve things.
        Mr. Werff, I will turn to you with that. What are the
    issues standing in the way besides the misallocation of federal
    funds and state funds that truly are allocated for rural
    broadband?
        Mr. VANDER WERFF. Well, Congressman, I am not a person who
    installs rural broadband, so I can't speak too much to that.
    But from the boots-on-the-ground perspective as an enduser, I
    think it is just the complexity of it.
        People have mentioned terrain, and a lot of parts in
    Michigan, it is very hilly. So point to point becomes more of
    an issue.
        So it is just a matter of getting those projects funded,
    getting these things going, and getting the cable into the
    ground, for lack of a better way to put it.
        Mr. MEUSER. We have the same issue in my district, the
    hills. That is what you hear, and that is where, of course,
    fiber would come in and overcome that issue.
        Is that your thought as well in Kansas?
        Mr. TODD. Well, fortunately, we don't have the mountains to
    deal with in Kansas. We have the Flint Hills in the eastern
    part of the state, but quite honestly, fiber does overcome
    those challenges wherever you can deploy it.
        Mr. MEUSER. Okay. Ms. Furman, do you have anything to say
    on this broad question?
        Ms. JACKSON-FURMAN. Sure. I will just add that we are
    working in four states: Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, and
    Alabama. And I commend all four broadband offices for working
    very, very hard. They have been given a hard task, and they
    have worked very hard to execute.
        A few of the things that we run into that cause delays are
    occasionally permitting issues, railroads especially,
    sometimes, you know, and I am absolutely for environmental
    review----
        Mr. MEUSER. Sorry. Thank you. I have run out of time.
        Ms. JACKSON-FURMAN. Oh, okay.
        Mr. MEUSER. I yield back, Mr. Chairman.
        Chairman WILLIAMS. The gentleman yields back.
        I now recognize Mr. McGarvey from the great State of
    Kentucky for five minutes.
        Mr. MCGARVEY. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
        I want to first welcome my fellow Kentuckian, Ms. Jackson-
    Furman. Thank you for being here today, and welcome to the
    Small Business Committee.
        I am really grateful for all the work that you are doing to
    expand broadband access in the Commonwealth of Kentucky,
    especially in our hardest-to-reach places. So thank you for
    that.
        This is a pretty bipartisan issue, I think. I know that
    everybody in America wants reliable, affordable connectivity to
    the internet. As a parent where school just started, literally
    everything your kids now do is online. This is not a want. This
    is a need to have affordable connectivity throughout this
    country.
        And it wasn't so long ago that Democrats and Republicans
    actually came together and worked on this with the Affordable
    Connectivity Program, which gave internet access to one in four
    Kentucky families and 23 million households across the country.
    But the Republicans did let that program expire last year, and
    I still hear from constituents for whom that program was a
    lifeline, a connection to their doctor, to their school, to
    their kids' activities, to homework, to work. That is now gone.
        So Republicans and Democrats came together and created the
    BEAD program, too, which Ms. Jackson-Furman correctly noted in
    her testimony will bring broadband to 2100 underserved Kentucky
    locations. This is what BEAD was designed for, making it easier
    for co-ops like WK&T to go into the hardest-to-connect places
    and deliver on that last mile.
        But in June, the Trump administration abruptly reworked the
    BEAD program requirements, creating chaos for State broadband
    programs, offices, small service providers, and communities
    that were about to get reliable internet for the first time.
        So, Ms. Jackson-Furman, we will start there and just say,
    tell us about what the Trump administration's changes on the
    BEAD program meant to you and the people for whom you provided
    internet.
        Ms. JACKSON-FURMAN. Thank you. The biggest thing that it
    meant to companies like me is removing the fiber preference and
    allowing satellite to compete on equal footing and then fixed
    wireless too, specifically satellite, though. I know they have
    put in a lot of applications for a lot of locations.
        So what that means for me, I think we fared pretty well in
    our application area in Kentucky through a consortium that we
    are involved with. But in Tennessee where we applied for
    funding, we lost locations that were awarded to satellite. And
    I say that--satellite was the only other applicant in that
    area, so I am assuming they were awarded to satellite because
    they weren't awarded to WK&T with fiber technology. So that was
    the biggest impact.
        Mr. MCGARVEY. And I am hearing from everybody's testimony
    up here--again, the goal is to get internet to people who need
    it, right? I am hearing from everybody up here that this
    preference for satellite makes it less reliable for people to
    get internet.
        Is anybody disagreeing with that right now? Great. Silence
    is an answer.
        So there is a really well-known entrepreneur from my
    hometown of Louisville, Kentucky, David Jones, Sr. And he once
    said: Quality is often the most affordable thing you can do. So
    fiber is a better quality than satellite, it lasts longer than
    satellite, and even though it might be more expensive up front,
    is what I am understanding that it is cheaper over the long
    term and better for the people who need it, Mr. Todd?
        Mr. TODD. In our experience, what we have seen is that the
    investment, when you look at the operating as well as the
    capital investments, over a 10-year period, you end up being in
    a better position with underground fiber.
        Mr. MCGARVEY. And isn't that what we should be looking at
    is where are we in the best position for both the people of the
    country and for taxpayers' money with this program?
        Mr. TODD. Absolutely.
        Mr. MCGARVEY. Okay. That helps. And it is working better in
    the areas that most need it, right? Those hard-to-reach areas
    where sometimes in the mountains of East Kentucky or wherever
    you are, satellite might not be as reliable, this gets it there
    and over the long run is cheaper, it is better for people.
        And I would love to see us go do that to deliver on that
    bipartisan goal of making sure everybody in this country is
    connected to the internet.
        In an urban district like mine, a lot of people don't
    really struggle with broadband access. It is the affordability
    of broadband right now. And the Affordable Connectivity Program
    made it just a little bit easier for families struggling to put
    food on the table to get by, to have internet.
        I just want to ask, Ms. Jackson-Furman--you have got 20
    seconds--what does it mean in rural communities and what is
    happening now that the funding is gone?
        Ms. JACKSON-FURMAN. Well, the ACP program definitely helped
    people connect, stay connected. And now that it is gone, they
    have been disconnected in many cases. And that is it in a
    nutshell.
        Mr. MCGARVEY. You did it in under 20 seconds. Thank you so
    much.
        Mr. Chairman, I yield back.
        Chairman WILLIAMS. The gentleman yields back.
        I now recognize Mr. Finstad from the great State of
    Minnesota for five minutes.
        Mr. FINSTAD. Thank you, Mr. Chair. I want to welcome Ms.
    Westbrock to the Committee. As a fellow Minnesotan, I just want
    to say thank you. Thank you for what you do for our neighbors.
    And for the Committee, what she does for our neighbors is--
    there is no cookie-cutter approach.
        Every hookup that you provide, every high-speed internet
    access point that you provide, you are going through lakes, you
    are going through rocks, you are going through forests. You
    live in a gnarly part of the state when it comes to not a
    direct A-to-B-type hookup. So thank you for being creative and
    figuring it out.
        You know, access to high-speed internet is the great
    equalizer in rural America. It provides opportunities for our
    small businesses to, you know, really be competitive globally.
    And without that access, we lose opportunities in rural
    America.
        And one of the things that I have heard from small
    businesses across Minnesota is really just understanding the
    maps. You know, we see the different maps, whether it is from
    the State broadband office, whether it is from the federal
    level.
        As a small business is looking at locating or expanding or,
    you know, really trying to figure out where they can play in
    that global economy, you look at one map and says, well, this
    area has, you know, great access to high-speed internet. And
    then you set up shop, and you realize you don't.
        So from your perspective, just give me the lay of the land
    in regards to the mapping of what we in government, you know,
    think to believe to be true versus what is on the ground a
    reality.
        Ms. WESTBROCK. Sure. Thank you. Across our service
    territory, we receive requests on a daily basis from business
    owners wondering if we are going to build in their area because
    they don't have access to a good connection. We immediately go
    to the maps to look and see if there is any opportunity to be
    able to build to them using a federal program or a state
    program.
        And when we go there and look, they show that they are
    served. And this happens probably eight out of the ten times
    that someone calls in. And the reason that they are showing
    served is because people are overreporting their data,
    companies are overreporting. And at specific locations, they
    may serve someone in that area, but they are reported in the
    entire census block.
        So, for us, I would say we--we really are worried that this
    money is being spent, and grant programs are being created
    based on incorrect data.
        Mr. FINSTAD. So on that point, where does the buck stop for
    the overreporting, the inaccuracies?
        Because, I mean, to a certain extent, if you were an
    outsider looking in, you would say, well, that is a bunch of
    malarkey, that is fraud, that is misrepresenting where the
    federal dollars are going, and it is not the reality that we
    see.
        So where does the buck stop on that?
        Ms. WESTBROCK. Sure. So I think that the buck has to stop
    on that we need to put serious consequences in for chronic
    overreporting on this map data because until that happens, I
    don't see it getting corrected because what it does is it opens
    up those areas, then, for a provider like us to come in and use
    federal dollars to be able to build in that area. And those
    providers do not want that to happen.
        Mr. FINSTAD. So as has been stated earlier, I mean, I think
    this issue is a very bipartisan issue. I think you will see
    support on both sides of the aisle.
        I think where we can probably really hone in to make sure
    the dollars are getting to where they need to go is if we just
    start with the maps and be honest with ourselves about--we are
    not just going to keep throwing money against the wall and
    relying on maps that aren't accurate because, at the end of the
    day, if you are in that area that the map says you are getting
    the service, but you know in reality you are not, we are
    throwing good money at bad. And so I think that is one area for
    us to start.
        I hear it from our small businesses all the time, that
    they--depending on what map they look at, they say they are
    covered, but the reality is they are not. And it has to be
    frustrating not just from a small business perspective, but for
    a provider like you that is trying to do well and trying to
    really get to that farmer at the end of that three-mile gravel
    road that on paper might say they have service, but they don't.
        So I think that is one of the areas that we can really dig
    into here in Congress to try to figure out how do we do better
    with the dollars that we are spending to make sure we are
    actually getting to that farmer at the end of the three-mile
    road.
        And I just, again, want to thank you for what you do for
    our neighbors. I know that--like I said, not--not two projects
    are alike, but you are a problem solver and you are really
    trying to do good for our neighbors, and I appreciate you being
    here.
        Mr. Chair, I yield back.
        Chairman WILLIAMS. The gentleman yields back.
        I now recognize Mr. Cisneros from the great State of
    California for five minutes.
        Mr. CISNEROS. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
        Like several have already shared today, I believe we are at
    an inflection point, much like electricity in the early 20th
    century, internet access is a foundational technology in the
    21st century.
        Every house and small business across this great nation
    should have access to the internet, not just in urban
    communities, but in rural communities too. It is becoming more
    important as our country increasingly relies on the internet
    for information, economic growth, and communication.
        Just earlier this year, the Trump administration attempted
    to eliminate many Social Security services over the phone,
    essentially pushing seniors in rural areas to rely on the
    current access to internet or travel long distances to a field
    office. This highlights how access to broadband is not only
    critical for small businesses, but for the broader communities.
        For small businesses, there is no doubt internet access can
    foster growth and enhance capabilities to succeed in this
    digital economy. I am eager to work with my colleagues across
    the aisle to ensure all Americans have access to high-speed and
    affordable broadband.
        With that, Ms. Jackson-Furman, I would like to ask you,
    private sector plays a key role in building out broadband
    access.
        Do you have any notes for this Committee on how the federal
    government can accelerate private investment or improve
    collaboration within the private sector to ensure underserved
    areas have the access to internet they need?
        Ms. JACKSON-FURMAN. I think that private investment is
    extremely important. I know that we have had many collaborative
    efforts with local governments. We have had partnerships with
    local counties, local municipalities. It all comes down to
    money.
        But I think that the private investment from co-ops and
    other companies, coupled with these other local investments are
    what really makes it work whenever there is a lack of federal
    funding.
        Mr. CISNEROS. All right. So how can we use the federal
    funding that is out there? Is there any changes that we need to
    make to the current system right now to help the private sector
    continue to invest in this?
        Ms. JACKSON-FURMAN. Well, I think making the funding
    available is key. I think that is kind of what we have heard
    across the panel this morning. Making--the funding and the
    different funding mechanisms need to remain because they all
    have different goals, and they contribute to the success of
    connectivity in rural America in different ways.
        So continuing the funding, the USF programs, the Reconnect
    programs, the--make sure the BEAD money is allocated and spent
    and put into service. Those are all very important to get rural
    America connected and stay connected.
        Mr. CISNEROS. All right. Thank you very much.
        Mr. Vander Werff, your parallel between electricity and
    broadband is actually what I was thinking when I heard the
    topic for this hearing.
        With ongoing conversations about next generation internet
    technologies, what would be the impact of a wired digital
    divide on small town America if we don't start making
    improvements now?
        Mr. VANDER WERFF. Thank you, Congressman. That divide is
    only going to continue to increase. And being someone who lives
    in a rural community, has grown up and lived there for
    generations, one of the big things that we see is the number of
    young people that continue to leave our communities. And if we
    want to have rural America continue to exist, to be quite
    direct about it, for another two or three generations, we have
    to give young people an incentive to want to stay there.
        And if they can't further their education, if they can't
    access online job opportunities, things like that, that divide
    is only going to continue to grow and continue to erode rural
    America.
        Mr. CISNEROS. Well, thank you for that answer.
        Ms. Jackson-Furman, another question for you. Once networks
    are built, how important is it to ensure our families and
    businesses can afford to connect to these networks?
        Ms. JACKSON-FURMAN. It is very important. I think that
    whenever connectivity is ubiquitous, all boats rise in a
    community. There is opportunities for remote work, remote
    education, which oftentimes lead to career positions and remote
    work and sustainability of families in rural America. So it is
    extremely important.
        Mr. CISNEROS. All right. Well, thank you all for being here
    today.
        And like my colleagues have said, right, this is a
    bipartisan issue. It is something that all of America needs no
    matter whether you live in the urban areas, like my district
    is, or in rural America.
        This is what drives our economy now. This is how we
    communicate, and this is how we do business. And if we don't
    make these investments and if we don't support these efforts to
    ensure that everybody has access to this, it is only going to
    leave people behind.
        You know, I think in our day and age right now, we would
    never stand for anybody living in a house or being anywhere
    without electricity or running water in their house, and I
    think we have to feel the same way right now today about
    internet connectivity.
        So with that, Mr. Chairman. I yield back.
        Chairman WILLIAMS. The gentleman yields back.
        I now recognize Mr. Stauber from the great State of
    Minnesota for 5 minutes.
        Mr. STAUBER. Thank you, Chairman Williams and Ranking
    Member Velazquez for holding this hearing today.
        You know, in rural Minnesota broadband isn't a luxury. It's
    actually a matter of survival. I have heard from businesses
    across my district in all the counties and small communities
    who are trying to serve their communities by running
    restaurants, farms, auto shops, and much more. Yet they can't
    reliably upload a payroll file or process a credit card when a
    snowstorm knocks out their satellite service.
        It is 2025, and this can't be accepted as the status quo
    for our rural communities. Connectivity is no longer optional,
    and right now federal broadband programs are too duplicative,
    too bureaucratic, and too slow to deliver results for main
    street.
        Ms. Westbrock, you know this better than most. You serve
    rural Minnesotans every day through CTC. Could you speak to the
    regulatory roadblocks like permitting delays and redundant
    reporting that hinder your ability to build and connect our
    communities?
        Ms. WESTBROCK. Thank you.
        It is our primarily roadblock during construction season of
    getting the permitting approved. And so, in one really specific
    example, as you know, we hope that we can start building in
    April, and we hope that we can go to mid-October, but then our
    construction season is over.
        So, when we have 6-month delays for soil testing, that
    causes our project to get pushed back another year. And then we
    wait another 6 months for the State to approve it. We are now
    pushed back 2 years on that project only because of the delays
    in permitting.
        Mr. STAUBER. And the 2 years, it becomes more expensive
    every year you delay.
        Ms. WESTBROCK. Absolutely.
        Mr. STAUBER. In your testimony, you also mentioned the
    importance of the Universal Service Fund in helping maintain
    affordable service for rural areas. That is an issue that I
    have worked on with you directly, and I signed onto the amicus
    brief defending the USF before the Supreme Court, and I was
    glad to see the court ruled in our favor preserving this
    essential program.
        Can you expand on why the USF is so critical to rural
    broadband operations and what you believe Congress should do to
    help modernize and sustain it.
        Ms. WESTBROCK. Sure. And thank you for signing onto that
    brief. That was a very important time for us.
        There are several pieces of legislation right now. The Fair
    Contributions Act, Lowering Broadband Costs for Consumers Act,
    and then the USF working group that are working on updating
    programs which would put USF on more stable footing. Failing to
    address these concerns will accelerate the declining pool of
    resources available for USF.
        And for us specifically, we work very, very hard to not be
    dependent on it. I mean, we are building out and diversifying
    our business all the time, but at the end of the day, our
    business is still over 20 percent dependent on USF, and that
    number for many co-ops is a low percentage.
        But without that, we cut jobs. We cut services. Our
    networks don't stay as reliable. So USF does have to have
    reform.
        Mr. STAUBER. I actually went out and toured one of your
    sites there. Incredible people, incredible leadership, and
    trying to spice up fiber. I mean, it is just an amazing
    process, and I was very happy to be there just outside
    Brainerd.
        And finally, in your testimony, you provide some specific
    examples of how broadband service has helped small businesses
    in our community. Can you talk about what broadband service
    technology you believe is most beneficial to meet the needs of
    small businesses in our rural communities?
        Ms. WESTBROCK. Yes, and I would love to give you a specific
    example. 7Sigma Systems is a company that is located in
    Brainerd, Minnesota. They have 25 employees, but they run a
    software company. That software company touches millions of end
    users on our fiber network.
        And just to take into account the 25 employees they have,
    they have no brick and mortar, and so those 25 employees are in
    States like Georgia, Indiana, Wisconsin, Texas, Iowa, and they
    are all operating--all of those employees have to have reliable
    network in order to support that.
        And so that business is so exciting because those people
    can live where they want to live and have the jobs that they
    have for a livelihood there.
        But we believe in fiber, Representative Stauber.
        Mr. STAUBER. Yes, you know, representing a rural community,
    that is a quality of life issue. If you talk to realtors, I
    mean, the first thing people ask us: Is it a reliable service?
    That is a huge component to the economies that are going to
    drive new home buildings, first time home ownership in rural
    America.
        I remember we held a hearing in Scandia, Minnesota. We
    talked to a business owner who said he would have never located
    there had he realized there wasn't the reliable service.
        So we can't hear that. Small businesses are the engine of
    our economy, and you helped make our economy better by laying
    that fiber so we can go into greater America and enjoy our
    quality of life.
        Mr. Chair, that is it and I yield back.
        Ms. WESTBROCK. Thank you.
        Chairman WILLIAMS. The gentleman yields back.
        I now recognize Dr. Morrison from the great State of
    Minnesota for 5 minutes.
        Ms. MORRISON. Thank you, Chairman Williams and Ranking
    Member Velazquez for holding this hearing, and thanks to our
    witnesses for being here and taking the time.
        A quick shout out, of course, to my fellow Minnesotan, Ms.
    Westbrock. I love all the Minnesota representation in the House
    today, Mr. Chair. Thank you.
        While I was home in Minnesota in August, I had the pleasure
    of meeting with many small businesses from around my district.
    We all know small business plays a vital role in our economy,
    and their entrepreneurial spirit helps them devise innovative
    solutions to the unpredictable challenges that are thrown their
    way.
        One of the critical tools that help our small businesses
    innovate and modernize is, of course, broadband internet. So
    many aspects of our lives, such as e-commerce, education, and
    healthcare now rely on having reliable high-speed internet
    service.
        As a physician myself, telehealth enabled me to continue to
    connect with and care for my patients during the pandemic, and
    since then telehealth flexibilities have continued to play a
    crucial role in ensuring patients are able to access the care
    they need, especially in rural areas.
        Telehealth options fill a gap in areas where in-person care
    is limited or specialty care is unavailable, but to access
    these services, patients and providers have to have reliable
    broadband connections.
        So with that in mind, Ms. Jackson-Furman, do you have
    suggestions on ways that the USF can be improved to ensure that
    rural healthcare providers have the broadband capabilities
    needed to provide telehealth care?
        Ms. JACKSON-FURMAN. Well, we have got specific programs
    within USF that are designed for specific initiatives, such as
    E-Rate and other health services. So I think that if that were
    a priority, I think that potentially a specific fund could be
    set aside for something like that.
        But in the greater realm, if the BEAD funds are expended
    the way that they are supposed to be expended to achieve what
    they are supposed to achieve, we should have connectivity. It
    is an internet for all program, right, and we think that there
    may be holes left post BEAD that reconnect and different
    funding mechanisms can help fill.
        But I think that all of that has to do with deploying the
    facilities and then having specific USF programs to help people
    stay connected and to continue to maintain those networks going
    forward.
        Ms. MORRISON. Thank you. I appreciate that answer.
        In June, the Trump administration issued a policy notice
    making substantive changes to the BEAD program. One of the most
    significant changes was deprioritizing the installation of
    highly reliable fiber-optic cables and allowing funding to go
    to satellite broadband technology providers. This change opened
    the way for Starlink, America's largest satellite broadband
    provider and a subsidiary of SpaceX to receive funds for BEAD
    projects.
        Ms. Jackson-Furman, again to you. Can you discuss the
    impact of those changes?
        Ms. JACKSON-FURMAN. Sure.
        The biggest impact for providers such as WK&T was losing
    the fiber preference and allowing fixed wireless and satellite
    specifically to compete for the funds. The short answer is that
    it will create a landscape of haves and have-nots for fiber
    connectivity, which is faster, more reliable, and scalable. So
    some folks will be left with an inferior service, and that is
    unfortunate.
        So a specific impact to WK&T is we lost the opportunity to
    serve serviceable locations that we would have otherwise served
    with fiber.
        Ms. MORRISON. That is concerning. Thank you. And good to
    know.
        I, of course, would be remiss if I didn't mention that
    Starlink is owned by Elon Musk, and these changes made by the
    Trump administration came shortly after Mr. Musk's tenure as a,
    quote, special government employee.
        In the lead up to the passage of the budget reconciliation
    bill, the majority attempted to condition BEAD funding on
    States agreeing to not regulate artificial intelligence for 10
    years. I am concerned about how this would threaten online
    safety, jeopardize data privacy, and spread misinformation.
        But I would like to hear from you, Ms. Jackson-Furman, on
    how linking program funding to an unrelated condition might
    hinder broadband deployment.
        Ms. JACKSON-FURMAN. In my opinion, AI is a separate issue
    from BEAD funding, and they shouldn't be linked at all. AI,
    obviously, is a tool that we all use in day-to-day life, and it
    is exciting and it is new. I think that it does need to have
    some boundaries on the sides of it to make sure it is used
    appropriately. But, ultimately, I believe BEAD funding and AI
    are completely unlinked.
        Ms. MORRISON. I agree with you. Thank you, Ms. Jackson-
    Furman.
        And thank you, Mr. Chair, and our witnesses. I yield back.
        Chairman WILLIAMS. The lady yields back.
        And it is like being at the Minnesota State Fair with all
    of these Minnesotans here today.
        I now recognize Mr. Alford from the great State of Missouri
    for 5 minutes.
        Mr. ALFORD. Thank you, Mr. Chair. I am not from Minnesota,
    but another ``M'' State, Missouri. Good to have you with us.
        I have the honor of representing Missouri's Fourth
    Congressional District, largely rural, 24 counties in the heart
    of Missouri and the heart of America.
        Right now 15 federal agencies with more than 100 different
    programs have been working to try to make sure that every
    American has access to broadband. Despite this, I meet folks
    each and every time I am back in the district, and they ask me
    one thing: When are we getting broadband?
        Farmers cannot use modern technology. Families cannot
    access telemedicine. Small businesses are not willing to
    relocate to rural areas because they don't have the tools
    necessary to conduct small business in 2025. Many of my
    constituents lack the rural broadband, about 70,000 families.
    That is a lot. And this is despite billions of dollars being
    spent on attempts to expand rural broadband, including the most
    recent trench of $42 billion from the Biden administration's
    Infrastructure and Jobs Act.
        It is unacceptable in my opinion that 7 million homes and
    businesses primarily in rural areas like Central Missouri still
    lack access to rural broadband.
        Ms. Westbrock, thank you for being here today. Billions of
    taxpayer dollars, as we have said, have already been spent on
    broadband expansion, and yet rural communities still do not
    have adequate access. Why is that?
        Ms. WESTBROCK. Well, I will give you my professional
    opinion on that. I believe that the reason that they don't have
    access yet is because the way certain programs have been
    administered, that the programs have given money to companies
    that don't follow through on the work that they say they are
    going to do or they take shortcuts. They don't put in the
    robust connections that should be put in and then they are
    lacking that connectivity still in rural America.
        And we see it over and over with large corporations that
    say X and they don't do X, and that is very concerning when you
    live in small rural communities, and you hear that often.
        Mr. ALFORD. Are there any consequences to that lack of
    fulfillment for what they are really charged with doing with
    the federal government's money?
        Ms. WESTBROCK. I am unaware of any.
        Mr. ALFORD. Mr. Todd, you are the CEO of Nex-Tech, a
    company bringing fiber to rural communities in nearby Kansas.
    Given your advocacy for broadband funding reform, what
    legislative or regulatory burden do you believe most slows
    deployment in areas like my district?
        Mr. TODD. Thank you for the question.
        And I would say what would slow things down is generally
    the permitting process. As you know, there are different levels
    of permitting and right-of-way access that must be navigated.
    You have got different programs within the federal government
    which are not in sync, but you also have State and county and
    municipality codes that you have to work with. All of those can
    present delays in getting the permitting necessary to build out
    a project. That leads to delays and increased cost,
    unfortunately.
        Mr. ALFORD. As I stated, more than 100 programs have been
    set up to try to get rural broadband to everyone. Can you
    explain how a streamlined effort could help providers and their
    customers in rural communities? I assume some of this would be
    overcoming some of the regulations that are stifling the growth
    of expansion.
        Mr. TODD. I believe consistency would simplify things.
    Streamlining and consistency would make a difference. When a
    different program follows different rules and how you approach
    not only presenting a project but being approved and then
    acting on it, then that creates complications. So uniformity
    and consistency would be a great help.
        Mr. ALFORD. Mr. Werff, we have 1 minute left.
        There are thousands of folks just like you in my district
    who are forced to adapt and attempt to run their small
    businesses without full access to broadband. How has this lack
    of access to broadband, how has that affected your business?
        Mr. VANDER WERFF. Thank you for the question.
        We have been fortunate so far that we have been able to
    locate facilities and locate people in areas where we have
    access to at least something as far as broadband goes, but an
    overarching part of this conversation is not just broadband but
    cellular access because oftentimes--for example, our billing
    and software and everything for our Ag retail facilities, those
    orders are all taken on iPad. So either it is a hot spot or
    cellular connectivity, but the software itself is based in
    Illinois and operates all on cloud.
        So we can't operate without high-speed reliable internet,
    and so occasionally that forces us to reconsider where we want
    to locate a facility.
        Mr. ALFORD. Thank you. Thank you all for your answers and
    for being here today.
        And I yield back, Chairman.
        Chairman WILLIAMS. The gentleman yields back.
        And I now recognize Mr. Tran from the great State of
    California for 5 minutes.
        Mr. TRAN. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
        Ms. Westbrock, last year your company CTC announced a
    partnership with the Communications Workers of America to
    create the first broadband center apprenticeship program for
    Minnesota and other States in the region. How beneficial are
    programs like these to both workers and providers like yours?
        Ms. WESTBROCK. It is extremely important, especially in
    rural communities, that we can provide young--new workers
    coming into programs with the apprenticeship program.
        In this case, we had a tremendous experience in working
    with the CWA. We had our first two that graduated from the
    apprenticeship program. They both came straight out of high
    school into the apprenticeship program and are already working
    in a great job with great income.
        So, it has been super successful, and my thanks to CWA for
    working with us.
        Mr. TRAN. That is so good to hear.
        How can the federal government better maintain and expand
    its support for registered broadband apprenticeship programs
    like yours?
        Ms. WESTBROCK. Funding. Funding mechanisms are needed.
    Today that program is really grassroots, and we are trying to
    fund it ourselves with them and us involved, but we just--we
    need more help, and we need more awareness of how helpful these
    apprenticeship programs are.
        Mr. TRAN. I agree with that. Thank you for your testimony.
        For both Ms. Jackson-Furman and Ms. Westbrock, for more
    than 30 years the Universal Service Fund has been a critical
    federal program for working families, ensuring millions of
    Americans have access to broadband in the most rural and
    underserved areas in California and across the country.
        Reliable high-speed internet connection isn't a luxury, and
    it is vital to how modern small businesses operate. Thankfully,
    SCOTUS upheld the constitutionality of the program, but now
    Congress must look toward improving the program.
        Ms. Jackson-Furman first. In your respective written
    testimony, you highlighted the importance of Universal Service
    Fund. Could you first discuss how Congress could modernize and
    strengthen the Universal Service Fund and ensure it continues
    to meet the evolving connectivity needs of all Americans?
        Ms. JACKSON-FURMAN. Yes. Thank you.
        So major modernization does need to happen in the funding
    mechanism piece of that. So the base needs to be broadened for
    who contributes to the fund. Right now the majority of the
    funding comes from long distance services on voice bills, and
    that pool of revenue is ever retracting.
        And so the FUSF factor is exceeding 36 percent. So I think
    it will go to 39 percent for the fourth quarter of this year.
    That is not sustainable.
        So expanding the base contribution to edge providers and
    all ISP providers would bolster the fund, make the support
    predictable for the foreseeable future, and help us all operate
    with confidence when we are making 20-year investments.
        Mr. TRAN. Amazing.
        Ms. Westbrock, anything to add?
        Ms. WESTBROCK. I would just add that the modernization of
    USF is critical for our rural communities to have that support.
        Mr. TRAN. Thank you so much for your testimony and for all
    the witnesses for being here.
        Mr. Chairman, I yield back.
        Chairman WILLIAMS. The gentleman yields back.
        I now recognize Mr. Downing from the great State of Montana
    for 5 minutes.
        Mr. DOWNING. Mr. Chair, thank you very much for holding
    this. Thank you, witnesses, for being here.
        My home State of Montana is one of the least densely
    populated places in the country. We have really, really long
    roads, and we lag behind the rest of the country in broadband
    access. Only 73 percent of our households have access, which is
    below the national average of about 95 percent.
        This lack of access sets back rural job creators competing
    in our modern economy. Reliable connection to the internet is
    crucial for small businesses to market their products, to
    recruit talent, and, you know, effectively run their
    operations.
        So this one is to the whole panel. From your experience
    both as broadband providers and as rural businessowners, what
    impacts have you seen broadband expansion have on making rural
    small businesses more viable for outside investments? I will
    open that to the panel.
        Ms. Westbrock?
        Ms. WESTBROCK. Yes. I would like to specifically talk about
    Nature Link, which is a company that is in our service
    territory. They are a small resort, and they have the ability
    to hold corporate functions there. When they went into that
    area, the services that were there weren't what they needed to
    attract those large conferences to their resort, and so once we
    got the connectivity there, they were able to start booking
    those, and now we are bringing in those dollars into our local
    economy.
        Mr. DOWNING. Thank you.
        Anyone else? Mr. Todd?
        Mr. TODD. Thank you, sir.
        With regard to entrepreneurship, we have seen the ability
    for young people or folks that are interested in starting and
    growing a business facilitated by fiber broadband capabilities,
    and without that, they would be somewhere else. They choose our
    area because of the infrastructure that we have, the
    connectivity that they can have access to.
        So small businesses grow. Entrepreneurs are able to start
    businesses, and it just continues to benefit the community as a
    whole.
        Mr. DOWNING. Right. Thank you.
        Mr. Vander Werff?
        Mr. VANDER WERFF. Thank you, Congressman.
        I think the thing to recognize from my perspective on this
    issue as a small business owner, you know, oftentimes when we
    think about business growth with internet connectivity, it is
    sort of the big sexy things like starting an e-commerce
    business or a web-based business.
        But in reality, it is your local HVAC contractor. It is the
    local lumbar yard simply being able to go on LinkedIn and look
    for employees. It is being able to run payroll software. It's
    being able to order parts and services off the internet.
        It is not necessarily a necessity to have for a business to
    be able to create a digital storefront. It is just a necessity
    of having a cloud-based business. I mean, you can't even get
    QuickBooks as a desktop software anymore. It is all cloud-
    based, and if you don't have some kind of 5G or higher
    connectivity, it is not going to work.
        Mr. DOWNING. Something to add, Ms. Jackson-Furman?
        Ms. JACKSON-FURMAN. We had a seed company that was a large
    user of our data services, and they attracted outside
    investment, and they were bought by a much bigger company, a
    worldwide company. So that is opportunity. It brings
    opportunity for folks to grow when they have access to the
    worldwide stage to our fiber connectivity.
        Mr. DOWNING. Right. I appreciate that.
        You know, it is important to me that we have access for
    entrepreneurs that are in less served areas, which is, you
    know, a big part of my State, making sure that we have the
    connectivity and can attract the financing because that is,
    obviously, a key part to that.
        So, you know, I introduced earlier this year the Expanding
    Access to Capital for Rural Job Creators Act trying to solve
    some of these problems, but a big part is this connectivity as
    well.
        But in the interest of time, I am going to move on to a
    different topic on, you know, the impact of broadband on
    farming. You know, farming is a crucial sector in rural
    economies across our country, including, you know, in Montana.
    I am in the central and eastern part of the State.
        Small farmers and ranchers are increasingly reliant on
    high-tech methods and machinery in order to remain competitive.
    Precision agriculture tools like, you know, GPS, autonomous
    equipment, drones, soil sensors, all of these depend on
    broadband for accessing data and operating effectively.
        So I will start with Mr. Vander Werff. Has unreliable
    broadband limited your ability to adopt these tools on your
    farm in rural Michigan?
        Mr. VANDER WERFF. It has created challenges for us to do
    so. You have to remember when we are creating data out in the
    field, we are creating terabytes of data at a time, and that
    data, even if it is remotely uplinked to a cloud-based server,
    as a lot of it is, you then have to be able to access that.
        So even if I have great connectivity through cellular on
    the equipment, I still have to have a broadband connection at
    my office or this data is useless to me.
        Mr. DOWNING. Right. We are seeing more and more demand for
    this. And, unfortunately, I could go deep into this, but I have
    run out of time.
        So on that, Mr. Chair, I yield back.
        Chairman WILLIAMS. The gentleman yields back.
        I now recognize Ms. Goodlander from the great State of New
    Hampshire for 5 minutes.
        Ms. GOODLANDER. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and thank you to
    our witnesses for being here today for this important hearing.
        We are all back from our districts. I spent 40 days and 40
    nights pounding the pavement across New Hampshire, and the
    issue of reliable, affordable internet access came up pretty
    much everywhere I went.
        In conversations with family farmers--and I am grateful
    that you are here today to help us dig in on that front--rural
    entrepreneurs, small businesses of all kinds, you know, in New
    Hampshire, in my district, a lot of the challenge comes from we
    see just a situation where we have got weather-dependent
    reliability when it comes to the internet.
        We had an opportunity through the Bipartisan Infrastructure
    Bill, which paved the way for my State to really deliver
    broadband across the board. $191 million has been put on the
    table for the State of New Hampshire.
        Our State, on a bipartisan basis, as we always work, put
    together a great 5-year plan. And just last month, changes to
    the BEAD program, which is really the lifeline for my State. To
    be able to achieve what we all want to see, which is universal
    broadband access that is reliable and affordable, the BEAD
    program is critical to that.
        Ms. Jackson-Furman, I know you have applied for--and the
    other witnesses, have you all applied for BEAD grants or worked
    with the program?
        So I just want to ask--and, Mr. Chairman, I would like to
    enter into the record a letter I wrote to Secretary Lutnick
    last month about this specifically. Thank you very much. It
    hasn't received a response yet.
        We have an opportunity here with this $191 million in the
    State of New Hampshire. We've got a great plan. It was already
    approved. It is waiting for us and waiting for the grantees
    across my State who have gone through a lot of trouble to
    navigate complicated federal programs. And I am all for cutting
    the red tape and waste, fraud, and abuse wherever we can find
    it.
        But Ms. Jackson-Furman, can you tell us a little bit about
    your experience with the BEAD program and what it means for the
    goal we all want to achieve?
        Ms. JACKSON-FURMAN. Sure. Thank you.
        The BEAD program is--the fiber preference was removed. I
    know I said that before, but that was a really large issue for
    us, providers like us in rural America, the fiber preference
    being removed.
        While we think there is a place for all technologies, fixed
    wireless and satellite alike, fiber technology is considered
    the future-proof technology with the full scaleability and
    robust reliability that fixed wireless and satellite do not
    offer.
        So it makes sense to spend the dollars in a program like
    BEAD to provide sure connectivity as opposed to taking a gamble
    on what might be, and so I think that creating a system where
    not everybody has access to the same technology is unfortunate.
        Ms. GOODLANDER. Ms. Westbrock, can you talk a little bit
    about your experience with BEAD and what disruptions you have
    seen in this freeze on federal funds?
        Ms. WESTBROCK. Sure.
        So, the BEAD program has been complicated as a provider to
    navigate. We have spent many nights working on a BEAD
    application. We are recently preliminarily awarded the $20
    million, but if that fiber preference wouldn't have changed, I
    believe that we would have been awarded much more than that.
        We didn't apply for certain areas specifically because we
    knew that the match that we had would not be the match that we
    would need to have without being able to get a waiver. So we
    chose not to apply in certain areas.
        Ms. GOODLANDER. We welcome all of your ideas on how we can
    make these programs work better.
        I have got a bill, a bipartisan bill with Congressman Wied,
    the Office of Rural Affairs Enhancement Act. It is an office
    within this Small Business Administration. I wanted to--I have
    got 30 seconds left--ask our witnesses just if anyone has
    thoughts on how the SBA can be a more effective force
    multiplier and operator in helping to connect rural small
    businesses with what is theirs, these federal programs and
    funding streams. I would welcome your ideas since we are, after
    all, the Small Business Committee.
        Ms. JACKSON-FURMAN. I will jump in here.
        So I think that we would ask that individually, as
    Congressmen and women, whenever the contribution reform vote
    comes up in Congress, we need your help in order to have
    contribution reform so that USF remains sustainable in the
    foreseeable future.
        As far as the Small Business Committee, I don't have
    anything to ask right now, but as Members of Congress I do.
        Ms. GOODLANDER. Thank you very much.
        I yield back, Mr. Chair.
        Chairman WILLIAMS. The gentlelady yields back.
        And I would like to thank our witnesses for their testimony
    and for appearing before us today. You all did a really good
    job. Your hometowns and States should be proud of you.
        Without objection, Members have 5 legislative days to
    submit additional materials and written requests for the
    witnesses to the Chair, which will be forwarded to the
    witnesses. I ask the witnesses to please respond promptly.
        And if there is no further business, without objection, the
    Committee is adjourned.
        [Whereupon, at 11:35 a.m., the committee was adjourned.]
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