Sen. Thune Convening Rural Broadband Field Hearing

Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.) will hold a field hearing on rural broadband Sept. 5 at the Southeast Technical Institute in Sioux Falls. 

Thune is chairman of the Senate Communications Subcommittee and former chair of the full committee.  

Among the witnesses for the hearing will be fellow Republican and FCC commissioner Brendan Carr. 

Other witnesses are Dr. José-Marie Griffiths, president, Dakota State University; Deanna Larson, president, Avera eCARE; Mark Shlanta, CEO, SDN Communications; Craig Snyder, CEO, VIKOR Teleconstruction; Michael Adelaine, VP for Technology and Security, South Dakota State University. 

The hearing, entitled Transforming Rural America: A New Era of Innovation will "examine the innovations high-speed broadband services bring to rural America in a variety of sectors such as agriculture, education, health care, and small business." 

That examination will include the need for more reliable broadband connectivity in rural America. 

John Eggerton

Contributing editor John Eggerton has been an editor and/or writer on media regulation, legislation and policy for over four decades, including covering the FCC, FTC, Congress, the major media trade associations, and the federal courts. In addition to Multichannel News and Broadcasting + Cable, his work has appeared in Radio World, TV Technology, TV Fax, This Week in Consumer Electronics, Variety and the Encyclopedia Britannica.