There is potentially good news for many in Arkansas struggling with low-speed internet connections.
Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson released a plan this week to bring faster broadband to most of the state.
"The time for expanding broadband all over the state is now. As recently as 30 years ago, the idea of internet was as foreign to most people as the concept of electricity was to people 200 years ago," the governor said in a written address. "But we have seen the technology grow to the point that it is almost as essential to our daily life as electricity."
Hutchinson's goal is to bring broadband to every area of the state with a population of at least 500. And he plans to do it by 2022.
The vision is to have speeds of at least 25 mps download and 3 mps upload. As the governor said, that would mean you could download a song in a second and a 2-hour movie in just 10 minutes.
While some areas already have higher-speed internet, that's a lot faster than many have now.
We've written about high-speed internet before. How these days it is necessary for building a strong economic base. So in our view this is something the state needs.
We applaud Hutchinson's plans and hope they come to fruition.