Carr Joins Senator Thune in South Dakota, Senator Ernst and Congressman Nunn in Iowa
Events Focus on Expanding Rural Connectivity, Telehealth, Public Safety, and Workforce

SIOUX FALLS, SD, May 25, 2023—This week, FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr will be in South Dakota and Iowa.  Yesterday afternoon, he met with wireless infrastructure builders in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, that are constructing next-gen networks and discussed the continued demand for tower climbers, lineman, and other 5G workers.  Later, Carr visited with public safety professionals at a 911 call center. 

Today, Carr will first visit a 988 call center to hear directly from professionals who serve as a lifeline to those with mental health needs.  Then, Carr will join Senator Thune for events with small Internet providers that are expanding high-speed services across rural and hard to serve areas.  First, Thune and Carr will visit an infrastructure construction business.  Then, Thune and Carr will visit an active broadband construction site where new high-speed service is being built as a result of the FCC’s 2018 Alternative Connect America Cost Model (ACAM) program.  The ACAM program supports networks in some of the most rural and expensive to serve areas in the country.

Later today, Carr will travel to the Hawkeye State to meet with a rural Internet service provider that is using an FCC program to meet the robust connectivity needs of Iowa’s agriculture industries, including the egg, dairy, and cattle farmers that are central to the state’s economy and America’s food security.

On Friday, Carr will join Senator Ernst and Congressman Nunn for a visit to a health clinic that has leveraged the use of telehealth to fill gaps in care for Iowans across the state.  Carr will also visit an active broadband build with Senator Ernst in the western region of the state where fiber is being deployed to homes and schools at a rapid clip to help close the digital divide.  Finally, Carr will visit a tower company in central Iowa to learn about its in-house training program and ways in which the company is working to fill workforce shortages in Iowa and beyond.

Commissioner Carr issued the following statement:

“Every American should have access to an affordable, secure, and high-speed Internet connection, regardless of where they live.  I want to applaud Senator Thune, Senator Ernst, and Congressman Nunn for their leadership and policies that are facilitating broadband expansion and adoption across their states.  I’m proud to join them this week as we hear from broadband builders, telehealth providers, education leaders, and public safety officials who are working hard to make their communities more prosperous through the opportunities afforded by better connectivity.  I commend their hard work and look forward to our continued collaboration.”

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Office of Commissioner Brendan Carr
www.fcc.gov/about/leadership/brendan-carr
Media Contact:  Greg Watson
(202) 418-0658 or greg.watson@fcc.gov