<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN">
<HTML xmlns:v = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:vml" xmlns:o =
"urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" xmlns:w =
"urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:word" xmlns:m =
"http://schemas.microsoft.com/office/2004/12/omml"><HEAD>
<META content=text/html;charset=iso-8859-1 http-equiv=Content-Type>
<META name=GENERATOR content="MSHTML 8.00.6001.19120">
<STYLE><!--
/* Font Definitions */
@font-face
{font-family:Calibri;
panose-1:2 15 5 2 2 2 4 3 2 4;}
@font-face
{font-family:Tahoma;
panose-1:2 11 6 4 3 5 4 4 2 4;}
@font-face
{font-family:Georgia;
panose-1:2 4 5 2 5 4 5 2 3 3;}
/* Style Definitions */
p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal
{margin:0in;
margin-bottom:.0001pt;
font-size:11.0pt;
font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";}
h6
{mso-style-priority:9;
mso-style-link:"Heading 6 Char";
margin:0in;
margin-bottom:.0001pt;
line-height:15.0pt;
font-size:14.5pt;
font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";
color:black;
font-weight:normal;}
a:link, span.MsoHyperlink
{mso-style-priority:99;
color:blue;
text-decoration:underline;}
a:visited, span.MsoHyperlinkFollowed
{mso-style-priority:99;
color:purple;
text-decoration:underline;}
p.MsoPlainText, li.MsoPlainText, div.MsoPlainText
{mso-style-priority:99;
mso-style-link:"Plain Text Char";
margin:0in;
margin-bottom:.0001pt;
font-size:11.0pt;
font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";}
span.Heading6Char
{mso-style-name:"Heading 6 Char";
mso-style-priority:9;
mso-style-link:"Heading 6";
font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";
color:black;}
span.PlainTextChar
{mso-style-name:"Plain Text Char";
mso-style-priority:99;
mso-style-link:"Plain Text";
font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";}
span.EmailStyle20
{mso-style-type:personal-reply;
font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";
color:#1F497D;}
.MsoChpDefault
{mso-style-type:export-only;
font-size:10.0pt;}
@page WordSection1
{size:8.5in 11.0in;
margin:1.0in 1.0in 1.0in 1.0in;}
div.WordSection1
{page:WordSection1;}
--></STYLE>
</HEAD>
<BODY style="PADDING-LEFT: 10px; PADDING-RIGHT: 10px; PADDING-TOP: 15px"
id=MailContainerBody lang=EN-US leftMargin=0 link=blue topMargin=0 vLink=purple
CanvasTabStop="true" name="Compose message area">
<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Verdana>I have a hard time buying "bears rubbing on
towers" as a reason for intermittently poor internet service. My signal
comes from a water tower in north Moscow. It has been intermittently bad
since the mail server went down. Sometimes it's OK, but sometimes it is
unusable, like at times last night.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Verdana></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Verdana>FSR tech support has worked hard to solve many
problems in my history with them; that's why this last spate of problems
is so frustrating.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Verdana></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Verdana>w.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt Tahoma">
<DIV><BR></DIV>
<DIV style="BACKGROUND: #f5f5f5">
<DIV style="font-color: black"><B>From:</B> <A
title="mailto:areaman@moscow.com
CTRL + Click to follow link"
href="mailto:areaman@moscow.com">Dan Carscallen</A> </DIV>
<DIV><B>Sent:</B> Wednesday, September 14, 2011 11:42 AM</DIV>
<DIV><B>To:</B> <A
title="mailto:vision2020@moscow.com
CTRL + Click to follow link"
href="mailto:vision2020@moscow.com">'vision 2020'</A> </DIV>
<DIV><B>Subject:</B> Re: [Vision2020] For Idaho and the Internet, Life in the
Slow Lane</DIV></DIV></DIV>
<DIV><BR></DIV>
<DIV class=WordSection1>
<P class=MsoNormal><SPAN style="COLOR: #1f497d">Bears rubbing on the towers . .
. I guess one of the prices we pay for getting to live
here.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><SPAN style="COLOR: #1f497d"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><SPAN style="COLOR: #1f497d">DC<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><SPAN style="COLOR: #1f497d"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<DIV>
<DIV
style="BORDER-BOTTOM: medium none; BORDER-LEFT: medium none; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0in; PADDING-LEFT: 0in; PADDING-RIGHT: 0in; BORDER-TOP: #b5c4df 1pt solid; BORDER-RIGHT: medium none; PADDING-TOP: 3pt">
<P class=MsoNormal><B><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Tahoma','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 10pt">From:</SPAN></B><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Tahoma','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 10pt"> <A
href="mailto:vision2020-bounces@moscow.com">vision2020-bounces@moscow.com</A>
[mailto:vision2020-bounces@moscow.com] <B>On Behalf Of </B>Saundra
Lund<BR><B>Sent:</B> Wednesday, September 14, 2011 11:39 AM<BR><B>To:</B>
'vision 2020'<BR><B>Subject:</B> [Vision2020] For Idaho and the Internet, Life
in the Slow Lane<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P></DIV></DIV>
<P class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></P>
<P class=MsoPlainText>< <A
href="http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/14/us/downloads-are-slowest-in-idaho-study-finds.html?_r=1&partner=rss&emc=rss&pagewanted=all">http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/14/us/downloads-are-slowest-in-idaho-study-finds.html?_r=1&partner=rss&emc=rss&pagewanted=all</A>><o:p></o:p></P>
<P class=MsoPlainText><o:p> </o:p></P>
<P class=MsoPlainText><B><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 18pt">For Idaho and the
Internet, Life in the Slow Lane<o:p></o:p></SPAN></B></P>
<P class=MsoPlainText><B><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 18pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></B></P>
<H6
style="LINE-HEIGHT: 14.4pt; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 1.5pt; MARGIN-LEFT: 0in; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0in; mso-margin-top-alt: 1.5pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; COLOR: gray; FONT-SIZE: 7.5pt">By <A
title="More Articles by Katharine Q. Seelye"
href="http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/people/s/katharine_q_seelye/index.html?inline=nyt-per">KATHARINE
Q. SEELYE</A><o:p></o:p></SPAN></H6>
<H6 style="LINE-HEIGHT: 14.4pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; COLOR: gray; FONT-SIZE: 7.5pt">Published:
September 13, 2011<o:p></o:p></SPAN></H6>
<P class=MsoPlainText><o:p> </o:p></P>
<P class=MsoPlainText><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; COLOR: black; FONT-SIZE: 11.5pt">POTLATCH,
Idaho — Barry Ramsay, who owns a small manufacturing company here between two
mountains, remembers the day his Internet connection crashed for several hours.
Work crews had to ride up in snowmobiles to discover the
problem.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoPlainText><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; COLOR: black; FONT-SIZE: 11.5pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<P
style="LINE-HEIGHT: 17.6pt; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 12pt; MARGIN-LEFT: 7.5pt; MARGIN-RIGHT: 6pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in"
class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; COLOR: black; FONT-SIZE: 11.5pt">“They
said that bears had been rubbing against the towers,” Mr. Ramsay said. In this
mountainous state, where some connections depend on line of sight, even snow and
fog can disrupt the signals. “These are the kind of problems you probably don’t
have in an urban area,” he said. <o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P
style="LINE-HEIGHT: 17.6pt; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 12pt; MARGIN-LEFT: 7.5pt; MARGIN-RIGHT: 6pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in"
class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; COLOR: black; FONT-SIZE: 11.5pt">And,
according to a new study, they are among the problems that have earned Idaho an
unfortunate distinction: it had the slowest Internet speeds in the country
earlier this year for residential customers who were downloading things like
games — a “dismal” average of 318 kilobytes per second. <o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P
style="LINE-HEIGHT: 17.6pt; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 12pt; MARGIN-LEFT: 7.5pt; MARGIN-RIGHT: 6pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in"
class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; COLOR: black; FONT-SIZE: 11.5pt">Translation:
In Idaho, it would take you 9.42 seconds to download a standard music file
compared with 3.36 seconds in Rhode Island, the state with the fastest average
speeds, at 894 kilobytes per second. <o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P
style="LINE-HEIGHT: 17.6pt; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 12pt; MARGIN-LEFT: 7.5pt; MARGIN-RIGHT: 6pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in"
class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; COLOR: black; FONT-SIZE: 11.5pt">The
slowest city, by the way, was also in Idaho: In Pocatello, it would take nearly
12 seconds to download that music file, according to the study by Pando
Networks, a company that helps consumers accelerate downloads. In the nation’s
fastest city, Andover, Mass., a Boston suburb, it would take just over one
second. <o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P
style="LINE-HEIGHT: 17.6pt; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 12pt; MARGIN-LEFT: 7.5pt; MARGIN-RIGHT: 6pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in"
class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; COLOR: black; FONT-SIZE: 11.5pt">Such
speed distinctions might seem insignificant. But with larger files, downloading
delays of just a few seconds can stretch into crucial minutes or hours and over
time result in losses across many aspects of life, some experts say, beyond
entertainment and games, affecting fields such as public safety, education and
economic growth. It is not clear how many households throughout this state still
have no Internet, but nationally, the figure is 28 percent — most of them in
rural areas. <o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P
style="LINE-HEIGHT: 17.6pt; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 12pt; MARGIN-LEFT: 7.5pt; MARGIN-RIGHT: 6pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in"
class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; COLOR: black; FONT-SIZE: 11.5pt">The
United States as a whole lags in speed, coming in 25th behind South Korea, which
has the fastest speeds in the world. Even Romania clocks in ahead.
<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P
style="LINE-HEIGHT: 17.6pt; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 12pt; MARGIN-LEFT: 7.5pt; MARGIN-RIGHT: 6pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in"
class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; COLOR: black; FONT-SIZE: 11.5pt">“This is
about our overall competitiveness,” said Jonathan Adelstein, the administrator
of the federal government’s Rural Utilities Service and a major advocate of
broadband. “Without broadband, especially in rural areas, kids might not reach
their full potential. And we can’t expect to be competitive in a global
economy.” <o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P
style="LINE-HEIGHT: 17.6pt; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 12pt; MARGIN-LEFT: 7.5pt; MARGIN-RIGHT: 6pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in"
class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; COLOR: black; FONT-SIZE: 11.5pt">More
than 11 federally funded projects are under way in Idaho, at a cost of $25
million, to establish high-speed broadband. <o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P
style="LINE-HEIGHT: 17.6pt; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 12pt; MARGIN-LEFT: 7.5pt; MARGIN-RIGHT: 6pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in"
class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; COLOR: black; FONT-SIZE: 11.5pt">Yet this
sparsely populated, mountainous state still lags in residential speeds, and the
Pando study is only the most recent indicator. The federal government’s National
Broadband Map put Idaho at 47th for download speeds of three megabits or
greater. But the Pando study stung the collective psyche of officials here.
<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P
style="LINE-HEIGHT: 17.6pt; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 12pt; MARGIN-LEFT: 7.5pt; MARGIN-RIGHT: 6pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in"
class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; COLOR: black; FONT-SIZE: 11.5pt">“The
last thing I need is a report that says we don’t have the capacity and speed,
when I know it exists,” said Gynii A. Gilliam, executive director for the
Bannock Development Corporation, a nonprofit group working for economic growth
in the Pocatello area. She noted that Allstate Insurance was opening a $22
million call center in Pocatello and that the Federal Bureau of Investigation
has a service center there. “We have not lost any business because of Internet
speeds,” she said. <o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P
style="LINE-HEIGHT: 17.6pt; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 12pt; MARGIN-LEFT: 7.5pt; MARGIN-RIGHT: 6pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in"
class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; COLOR: black; FONT-SIZE: 11.5pt">Indeed,
speeds for Idaho’s businesses can be as fast as those anywhere, if customers pay
for it. The federal government says Idaho is among the states with the greatest
disparity in speeds available in urban areas versus rural areas.
<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P
style="LINE-HEIGHT: 17.6pt; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 12pt; MARGIN-LEFT: 7.5pt; MARGIN-RIGHT: 6pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in"
class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; COLOR: black; FONT-SIZE: 11.5pt">Even Ms.
Gilliam acknowledged that her home service was sluggish. <o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P
style="LINE-HEIGHT: 17.6pt; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 12pt; MARGIN-LEFT: 7.5pt; MARGIN-RIGHT: 6pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in"
class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; COLOR: black; FONT-SIZE: 11.5pt">“It
feels like it’s moving in slow motion,” she said. “A lot of times I’ll start
downloads and not complete them.” She said she was happy as long as she could
get e-mail. <o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P
style="LINE-HEIGHT: 17.6pt; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 12pt; MARGIN-LEFT: 7.5pt; MARGIN-RIGHT: 6pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in"
class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; COLOR: black; FONT-SIZE: 11.5pt">But
others are concerned. <o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P
style="LINE-HEIGHT: 17.6pt; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 12pt; MARGIN-LEFT: 7.5pt; MARGIN-RIGHT: 6pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in"
class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; COLOR: black; FONT-SIZE: 11.5pt">“We have
not been participating in the telecommunications revolution,” lamented State
Representative John Rusche, a retired pediatrician, a former health insurance
executive and the Democratic leader in the State House. As someone concerned
about electronic medical records, he has been pushing for better Internet
service for years. <o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P
style="LINE-HEIGHT: 17.6pt; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 12pt; MARGIN-LEFT: 7.5pt; MARGIN-RIGHT: 6pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in"
class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; COLOR: black; FONT-SIZE: 11.5pt">The
Pando study examined 4 million actual download speeds of Pando-supported
products — games, antivirus software and television shows — by residential
customers across the country from January to June. <o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P
style="LINE-HEIGHT: 17.6pt; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 12pt; MARGIN-LEFT: 7.5pt; MARGIN-RIGHT: 6pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in"
class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; COLOR: black; FONT-SIZE: 11.5pt">The
study found the fastest residential Internet speeds in New England and the
mid-Atlantic states and the slowest in the mountain west. <o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P
style="LINE-HEIGHT: 17.6pt; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 12pt; MARGIN-LEFT: 7.5pt; MARGIN-RIGHT: 6pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in"
class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; COLOR: black; FONT-SIZE: 11.5pt">Idaho
encapsulates some of the challenges for mountain states. Home to the Bitterroot
Range of the Rockies, the state is crisscrossed by a series of peaks, ridges,
forests, high plateaus and river valleys, making it expensive to lay cable or
build towers. <o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P
style="LINE-HEIGHT: 17.6pt; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 12pt; MARGIN-LEFT: 7.5pt; MARGIN-RIGHT: 6pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in"
class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; COLOR: black; FONT-SIZE: 11.5pt">“We have
a guy here who was dropped into remote, isolated areas of Iraq to set up their
telecommunications systems,” said Christine L. Frei, director of the Clearwater
Economic Development Association in Lewiston. “He told me, ‘We had better
communications in Iraq than you have in central Idaho.’ ” <o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P
style="LINE-HEIGHT: 17.6pt; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 12pt; MARGIN-LEFT: 7.5pt; MARGIN-RIGHT: 6pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in"
class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; COLOR: black; FONT-SIZE: 11.5pt">Idaho is
also sparsely populated, with an average of 19 people per square mile. (Rhode
Island, by comparison, has more than 1,018 people per square mile.) Providers
have little financial incentive to build a whole infrastructure across rugged
terrain just to reach one or two homes. <o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P
style="LINE-HEIGHT: 17.6pt; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 12pt; MARGIN-LEFT: 7.5pt; MARGIN-RIGHT: 6pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in"
class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; COLOR: black; FONT-SIZE: 11.5pt">“We’re
in business to make a profit,” said Jim Schmit, vice president and general
manager in Idaho for CenturyLink, formerly Qwest and now the state’s largest
Internet service provider. Still, Mr. Schmit said that 92 percent of CenturyLink
customers here had “access” to broadband, though he declined to say how many of
those who could subscribe actually did so. <o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P
style="LINE-HEIGHT: 17.6pt; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 12pt; MARGIN-LEFT: 7.5pt; MARGIN-RIGHT: 6pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in"
class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; COLOR: black; FONT-SIZE: 11.5pt">Bibiana
Nertney, a spokeswoman for the Idaho Department of Commerce, said residential
customers often could not afford broadband. <o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P
style="LINE-HEIGHT: 17.6pt; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 12pt; MARGIN-LEFT: 7.5pt; MARGIN-RIGHT: 6pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in"
class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; COLOR: black; FONT-SIZE: 11.5pt">“It’s
not the lack of availability,” she said. “It’s the lack of demand and what
people are willing to pay. It goes to Idaho’s philosophy and mentality that we
don’t spend more than we need.” <o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P
style="LINE-HEIGHT: 17.6pt; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 12pt; MARGIN-LEFT: 7.5pt; MARGIN-RIGHT: 6pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in"
class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; COLOR: black; FONT-SIZE: 11.5pt">While
grants and loans are available to build out the Internet infrastructure, Kerrie
Hurd, the broadband liaison for the federal Department of Agriculture Office of
Rural Development in Idaho, said the grant requirements could be onerous.
<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P
style="LINE-HEIGHT: 17.6pt; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 12pt; MARGIN-LEFT: 7.5pt; MARGIN-RIGHT: 6pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in"
class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; COLOR: black; FONT-SIZE: 11.5pt">“Not a
lot of communities are willing to put in the application and find the broadband
provider, especially when taxpayers want money to spend on an essential service,
like fixing the streets and updating the sewer system,” she said.
<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P
style="LINE-HEIGHT: 17.6pt; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 12pt; MARGIN-LEFT: 7.5pt; MARGIN-RIGHT: 6pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in"
class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; COLOR: black; FONT-SIZE: 11.5pt">A bright
spot is the Idaho Education Network, which provides high-speed broadband to all
high schools in the state and allows residents and business owners to use the
service at the schools. Unfortunately, because of cuts to school funding, some
schools are open fewer hours. <o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P
style="LINE-HEIGHT: 17.6pt; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 12pt; MARGIN-LEFT: 7.5pt; MARGIN-RIGHT: 6pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in"
class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; COLOR: black; FONT-SIZE: 11.5pt">To
address the cost issue, Mr. Schmit of CenturyLink said that starting next month,
the company would offer broadband services at a discount to low-income
customers. <o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P
style="LINE-HEIGHT: 17.6pt; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 12pt; MARGIN-LEFT: 7.5pt; MARGIN-RIGHT: 6pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in"
class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; COLOR: black; FONT-SIZE: 11.5pt">But some
say more needs to be done. <o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P
style="LINE-HEIGHT: 17.6pt; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 12pt; MARGIN-LEFT: 7.5pt; MARGIN-RIGHT: 6pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in"
class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; COLOR: black; FONT-SIZE: 11.5pt">“I don’t
think enough people understand just how bad the situation is,” said Susan
Crawford, who focused on broadband issues for President Obama early in his
administration. “It really is time for this country to invest in getting its
citizens online where we don’t have Internet access, especially in rural areas,
so we stop sending jobs to India that we could be sending to Idaho.”
<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P
style="LINE-HEIGHT: 17.6pt; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0pt; MARGIN-LEFT: 7.5pt; MARGIN-RIGHT: 6pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in"
class=MsoNormal><I><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; COLOR: black; FONT-SIZE: 11.5pt">John
Schwartz contributed reporting from New York.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></I></P>
<P class=MsoPlainText><o:p> </o:p></P></DIV>
<P>
<HR>
<P></P>=======================================================<BR> List
services made available by First Step Internet,<BR> serving the communities
of the Palouse since
1994.<BR>
http://www.fsr.net<BR>
mailto:Vision2020@moscow.com<BR>=======================================================</BODY></HTML>