WEBVTT - Broadband Access Is Key to Inclusive Economic Growth

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<v Speaker 1>You're listening to Bloomberg Business Week with Carol Messer and

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<v Speaker 1>Tim Stenebek on Bloomberg Radio.

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<v Speaker 2>June is Equality Month here at Bloomberg, So every Monday

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<v Speaker 2>and Thursday in the month of June we're looking at

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<v Speaker 2>all aspects of equality. Today, our focus is on the

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<v Speaker 2>lack of equal access when it comes to connectivity, something

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<v Speaker 2>we often talk about at Bloomberg. And I feel, like

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<v Speaker 2>you know, Matt coming off the pandemic, when we saw

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<v Speaker 2>kids working from home or trying to work from home

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<v Speaker 2>and then you know, parking in a lot outside of

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<v Speaker 2>McDonald's or something because they just didn't have internet access.

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<v Speaker 2>I thought things were going to get a lot better,

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<v Speaker 2>but as you remind me, it takes time.

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<v Speaker 1>Well, look, that's the biggest problem with the lack of

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<v Speaker 1>broadband nationwide is that when schools sent all the kids

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<v Speaker 1>home and said, you know, work from your laptops or

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<v Speaker 1>you know, telecommute with your iPads, not everyone could do

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<v Speaker 1>that for various reasons. It's expensive right to own that

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<v Speaker 1>kind of equipment. And even if you are a rich person,

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<v Speaker 1>if you're living in some remote area of the country,

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<v Speaker 1>you just can't get online. So do we have to

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<v Speaker 1>roll out fiber is there are there other options. We

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<v Speaker 1>just saw for Elon Musk getting approval from the Pentagon

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<v Speaker 1>to provide starlinks to Ukraine. But we also talk about

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<v Speaker 1>wireless broadband spreading the joys of high speed connectivity across

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<v Speaker 1>the country. Still, it's a big country. It's a very

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<v Speaker 1>very very big country, and I don't think a lot

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<v Speaker 1>of Americans realize just how big it is.

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<v Speaker 2>You're right, You're right, things we take for granted in

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<v Speaker 2>big metro cities is not the same across the country. Well.

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<v Speaker 2>Heidi Binko is co founder and executive director of the

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<v Speaker 2>Just Transition Fund, established in twenty fifteen by Rockefeller Family

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<v Speaker 2>Fund in the Appalachia Funders Network. They are about helping

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<v Speaker 2>communities tap into federal funding opportunities, including those in connectivity

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<v Speaker 2>and broadband. She joins us on Zoom from Charlottesville, Virginia. Heidi,

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<v Speaker 2>good to have you here, and you've been listening to

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<v Speaker 2>us rant on a little bit. Tell us a little

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<v Speaker 2>bit about your organization, the work that you're doing to

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<v Speaker 2>connect more Americans.

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<v Speaker 3>Yeah, thanks Carolyn, Thanks Matthew for having me today. I'm

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<v Speaker 3>really glad you're talking about broadband. I think there's a

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<v Speaker 3>sort of a quiet crisis in America that you're right, Carol,

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<v Speaker 3>that those of us in metro areas really don't think about.

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<v Speaker 3>So the Just Transition Fund is a nonprofit philanthropic organization

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<v Speaker 3>that I founded a number of years back, and essentially

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<v Speaker 3>we help communities affected by the downturn of the coal

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<v Speaker 3>industry diversify and grow their economies. So we're helping them realize,

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<v Speaker 3>they realize their own vision and vision for a thriving,

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<v Speaker 3>vibrant economic future. And we realized along the way that

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<v Speaker 3>we cannot work on economic development. You know, as you

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<v Speaker 3>said in your opening statement, you can't work on workforce development.

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<v Speaker 3>Kids can't access the internet for educational purposes if there

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<v Speaker 3>is not a good broadband connection in these places. And

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<v Speaker 3>people in urban areas don't realize this. I think most

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<v Speaker 3>people don't realize it. But this problem is particularly crude

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<v Speaker 3>acute in rural America. It's very It's even more acute

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<v Speaker 3>in the rural communities in which we work. So the

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<v Speaker 3>third of the coal communities that we work and don't

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<v Speaker 3>have access. And it's even worse than some places like

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<v Speaker 3>West Virginia the nation.

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<v Speaker 2>It's interesting, I'm thinking right now, you know, we're on

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<v Speaker 2>radio obviously, but we're also on YouTube, and we're on

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<v Speaker 2>Bloomberg Originals are streaming service, and for something like here,

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<v Speaker 2>you know, people take it for granted again, like being

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<v Speaker 2>able to kind of tap into us on multiple platforms.

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<v Speaker 2>But you're right, it's not the case across certainly rural

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<v Speaker 2>parts of the country. What are the government programs that

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<v Speaker 2>are out there in a week where we're talking a

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<v Speaker 2>lot about governments.

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<v Speaker 1>Well, we have the big broadbands, true, what's it called

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<v Speaker 1>broadband equity, access and deployment deployment, right, the Bad Program,

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<v Speaker 1>which is Bad Program forty two billion dollars.

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<v Speaker 2>So at least it's like a lot.

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<v Speaker 1>At least the government realizes that there's a problem, right

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<v Speaker 1>and are trying to do something about it.

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<v Speaker 3>Yeah, that's exactly right, Matthew. The Bad Program, which is

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<v Speaker 3>administered by the the NTIA, the National Telecommunications Information Agency,

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<v Speaker 3>is one of several agencies that is receiving a lot

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<v Speaker 3>of money for broadband to speed broadband adoption across the

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<v Speaker 3>federal government. Actually, I don't think people realize it, but

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<v Speaker 3>there's over one hundred billion dollars available through this administration

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<v Speaker 3>to support broadband access access. The problem is it's not

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<v Speaker 3>that easy for communities, particularly rural communities or low capacity communities,

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<v Speaker 3>to access those funds. So that's that's where that's where

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<v Speaker 3>the Just Transition Fund comes in.

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<v Speaker 1>So what do you do? I can imagine because this

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<v Speaker 1>country really is so big that it's not just West

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<v Speaker 1>Virginia or I don't know, Kansas, but there are multiple

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<v Speaker 1>states where you know, the population per square mile is

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<v Speaker 1>less than one, right, So how do you you can't

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<v Speaker 1>roll out fiber to all of those places? Right? Is

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<v Speaker 1>it about fixed wireless access?

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<v Speaker 3>It's about a lot of different technologies and in your right, right,

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<v Speaker 3>the problem is particularly particularly acute in places like southern Illinois,

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<v Speaker 3>Western Colorado, different places in Ohio, all across the.

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<v Speaker 1>Country, Wyoming, Mexico exactly.

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<v Speaker 3>Right, Like the tribal communities are hit particularly hard the

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<v Speaker 3>Navajo Nation. In some areas, ninety percent of the communities

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<v Speaker 3>can access can't access the internet. Right, So it's it's

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<v Speaker 3>it's it's particularly bad. And essentially what we do is

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<v Speaker 3>we act as an early stage investor to help communities

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<v Speaker 3>access the federal capital capital they need to build out

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<v Speaker 3>and access broadband infrastructure. So whether it's you know, fixed

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<v Speaker 3>wireless or or broadband or fixed wireless or or starlink

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<v Speaker 3>or what have you. There, there are different ways to

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<v Speaker 3>access the federal programs. Do you guys into some of

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<v Speaker 3>our Yeah, some of our communities out in out in

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<v Speaker 3>tribal areas are working on that are using that. The

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<v Speaker 3>problem with starlink is that it's really expensive now, right,

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<v Speaker 3>and that's another problem, right, I mean that's what makes

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<v Speaker 3>this broadband problem so hard to deal with, right, Like,

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<v Speaker 3>it's not only a problem of physical infrastructure of access,

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<v Speaker 3>but it's also a problem affordability.

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<v Speaker 2>What's a successful project that you guys have done and

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<v Speaker 2>we've just got about thirty seconds.

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<v Speaker 3>Yeah, great project that we worked on was in West Virginia.

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<v Speaker 3>We helped a series of communities access more than forty

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<v Speaker 3>five million dollars in federal funds and it ended up

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<v Speaker 3>connecting over thirty thousand of the most disconnected households in

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<v Speaker 3>West Virginia. So those kids that you heard about during

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<v Speaker 3>the pandemic that we're going to the McDonald's Wi Fi

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<v Speaker 3>right parking lot to get Wi Fi to do their homework,

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<v Speaker 3>that's what this project helped.

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<v Speaker 2>Wow, that's amazing, that's very good.

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<v Speaker 1>Yeah, absolutely, yeah, because what a disadvantage, and it's tough

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<v Speaker 1>that some families, so many families had to endure that.

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<v Speaker 1>Hopefully they don't have to go through that again anytime soon.

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<v Speaker 2>Yeah, and especially in a world, especially when it comes to

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<v Speaker 2>things like school. I mean, that's how kids, that's how

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<v Speaker 2>they work. It's just very different, certainly from when I

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<v Speaker 2>went to school, and maybe when you went to school.

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<v Speaker 1>A little different from back in the seventies.

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<v Speaker 2>Here, Heidi, thank you so much. I'm glad we were

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<v Speaker 2>able to check in with you. Heidibinko, she's co founder

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<v Speaker 2>and executive director of the Just Transition Fund, joining us

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<v Speaker 2>on Zoom from Charlottesville, Virginia. No, I just remember with

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<v Speaker 2>my own daughter, Like it's like all these assignments came

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<v Speaker 2>in on, like laptops and everything, and how they communicate

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<v Speaker 2>with teachers and great, like it's just different.

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<v Speaker 1>We should revolt, all right, Okay.

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<v Speaker 2>You ready ready to Okay? All right? You are listening

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<v Speaker 2>and watching Woodberg Radio