D.C. Memo: There’s a new tariff in town

Josh Stager is quoted in MinnPost about the digital divide in rural and urban areas after lawmakers in St. Paul have funded tens of millions of dollars for grants to build broadband services in rural parts of the state, yet they are not on track to meet goals in state law.

“The top line trend is just that the digital divide both in rural areas and urban areas has been very long standing. And remains just as much of a problem as a decade ago,” Joshua Stager, Senior Counsel at New America’s Open Technology Institute, told MinnPost.

“I think finally average people have realized this is a political issue. They’ve been waiting on hold with their cable company for hours and hours and started to think, ‘Maybe I should wait on the phone with my elected official and call city hall?’”