Evan Feinman is the state’s chief broadband advisor. He says companies won’t come to a community that doesn’t have good internet access.
“I have conversations with corporate leaders who say ‘Well am I going to be able to get in touch with my manager at 1 am and will he or she be able to send me a document?’ If the answer is no that community’s off the list,” says Feinman.
That’s why the state is pushing for universal broadband within the next decade. But there’s a hurdle: private companies like Verizon and Comcast won’t actually say where the gaps are.