Authored By Alina Hunter-Grah

Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Phil Bredesen recently met with area officials in Marion County to discuss his rural internet expansion plan, which differs from that of his Republican opponent Marsha Blackburn. While Bredesen favors the idea of public-private partnerships, Blackburn said the private sector should handle how to expand high-speed internet into rural areas. Bredesen joined Chattanooga Mayor Andy Berke and other area business and community leaders in discussing the topic last Friday. Although most people in Hamilton County now have access to high-speed internet, in Marion, 15 percent of the population lacks access, Bredesen said. In Sequatchie County, more than half the population doesn't have access to an internet speed of at least 25 megabits per second, which is what the FCC defines as broadband or high-speed service. An online map shows the breakdown of counties on the topic. As of last year, Tennessee ranked 29th in the U.S. for broadband access, with 34 percent of rural Tennessee residents lacking access at recognized minimum standards, according to Nooga.com archives. Bredesen's plan to increase access involves allowing TVA to include the internet as a utility and build out the needed infrastructure, which could remove some fears that private companies have about investing in areas where the population is small. However, U.S. Rep. Blackburn said the government should let the private sector "finish their jobs." Gov. Phil Bredesen During Bredesen's roundtable event last week, he told community leaders that his plan to add internet as a TVA utility would require a change in the current law, which forbids TVA from taking on other business ventures without approval. "Good access to the internet is really becoming a utility in this country that is rapidly just as essential as electricity and telephone," Bredesen said. "I feel, as a country, we have long held the values that people ought to have access to these basic services where they live and that's why we have TVA." Because federal law prohibits government agencies like TVA from discussing legislation, Bredesen said details and an exact plan have yet to be finalized. However, he said he sees plenty of potential for partnerships between the private and public sectors, which he hopes will calm concerns companies like Comcast may have about how this initiative could affect their revenue. "I think you can [remove] a lot of their concern by being willing to work with them by maybe pointing out that down the road ... this kind of stuff doesn’t have to be a government-operated thing," Bredesen said. He also specified that his plan does not mean a total government takeover of the internet, as some critics have worried, but rather it aims to create a partnership with already existing entities. "I’m not proposing to take over existing broadband that already exists; I’m proposing that we partner with the same people to get broadband in the areas where it doesn't exist," Bredesen said. Rep. Marsha Blackburn Blackburn, who chairs the House Committee on Energy and Commerce, said that she thinks moving internet to the public sector could undo some progress that she said is already being made in the private sector. "We don't need a big government solution to this," Blackburn said. "We don't need them to negate progress being made by the private sector." Blackburn said her solution is to continue the work to loosen the federal regulations on internet providers that would hopefully make building out infrastructure in rural areas more economically viable for internet providers. She also said that keeping internet private will allow for communities to pick which kind of internet service, like fiber optics or satellite, they want in their area. "People need to be able to choose the best thing for them," Blackburn said. Alina Hunter-Grah is a contributing writer. She is a graduate of The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, where she received a bachelor’s degree in communication with a minor in political science. Alina has over three years of journalism experience including time spent with CNN and 2nd & Church, a magazine based in Nashville, Tennessee. You can reach Alina at ahuntergrah@gmail.com or on Twitter @alinahuntergrah.