COVID-19 has made the need for a strong internet infrastructure even more crucial. Policymakers and candidates are focusing their attention on the “digital divide.” How can Iowa’s rural businesses avoid being left behind in an increasingly internet-dependent marketplace?

“If your competitors can do business more easily and more quickly, and more broadly and globally, because they have high-speed internet, and you don't, you're at a disadvantage,” says Bill Menner, a guest on the Back to Business Iowa podcast from Iowa State University Extension.

Menner was director of Iowa’s USDA Rural Development office in 2009-17 and now operates a rural sustainability consulting firm, The Bill Menner Group, based in Grinnell, Iowa. He spoke with ISU podcast host Steve Adams recently about the vital role of high-speed internet for rural Iowans — not only for business success, but for health, education and quality of life.

THE FIX: Bill Menner says Iowa has a long way to go in bringing high-speed internet to all rural areas.

Even before the pandemic, Menner notes, rural Iowa had a shortage of health care providers. When offices closed down, telehealth became the only way to consult with a doctor. Video meetings require much higher internet speeds than most Iowans can access. Thousands of students are currently taking classes all or partly online. Menner said he’s heard stories of parents driving their children to fast-food restaurant parking lots so they can access Wi-Fi.

The Iowa Governor’s Office of the Chief Information Officer estimates 100,000 Iowans do not have access to adequate broadband, defined as a minimum speed of 25 megabits download and 3 megabits upload.

Why issue important

Menner says independent service providers and city governments are beginning to step in to fill the gap, but Iowa has a long way to go. “Our economy right now, especially in the middle of this pandemic, is incumbent upon businesses and institutions and schools and hospitals being able to connect to each other in a millisecond. And the only way to do that is through high-speed broadband,” he says. “What we still have in our country and in our state are a series of haves and have nots — those folks who have great internet and those who don’t. And the ones who don’t are in a mess of trouble.”

At the end of the day, high-speed broadband internet access is a key public utility, Menner says. “And having access to it really makes or breaks your ability to reside in a small town and thrive there.”

Menner encourages all Iowans to start learning what the value of having internet access is at these higher speeds. “Talk to your internet provider, talk to your chamber of commerce or local economic development group, or your school district officials or local hospital board of directors and health care providers. See how you can take advantage of high-speed internet. And if you don’t have it in your location, start talking to policymakers and elected officials, and start the process of getting your community connected.”

Listen to the complete Bill Menner interview and prior ISU Extension podcasts on the podcast web page.

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