Capito files bipartisan bill to help end nation’s rural-urban digital divide

America’s broadband digital divide between rural and urban areas would continue to close under bipartisan legislation sponsored on May 16 by U.S. Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV).

The Rural Reasonable and Comparable Wireless Access Act of 2019, S. 1515, which Sen. Capito introduced with U.S. Sen. Maggie Hassan (D-NH), would direct the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to establish a national standard for determining whether mobile and broadband services available in rural areas are reasonably comparable to those services provided in urban areas, according to the congressional record.

“As we work to close the digital divide across the country, setting a national standard is important in order to measure progress,” Senator Capito said on Friday. “I’m proud to sponsor this bill because by requiring the FCC to set that standard, we can better identify how we can build out broadband quicker and more effectively across rural areas like West Virginia.”

S. 1515 has been referred for consideration to the U.S. Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee.

Earlier this year, Sen. Capito also joined a bipartisan group of colleagues in sending a Feb. 14 letter to FCC Chairman Ajit Pai in support of establishing an additional public feedback mechanism that would use crowdsourced data to help states inform broadband coverage maps and broadband access gaps.

“We are not suggesting that crowdsourced data is perfect and that it alone will be enough to fix the greater challenges with broadband mapping, but it is an important tool we should have in the toolbox,” wrote Sen. Capito and 10 other senators. “We believe the creation of a public feedback mechanism is feasible and would be a critical first step toward creating more reliable and accurate broadband maps.”