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Governor candidates want better internet in rural areas

Republican gubernatorial candidate Bill Lee spoke to the editors of the Times Free Press at the newspaper's office on September 28, 2018.
Republican gubernatorial candidate Bill Lee spoke to the editors of the Times Free Press at the newspaper's office on September 28, 2018. Republican gubernatorial candidate Bill Lee spoke to the editors of the Times Free Press at the newspaper's office on September 28, 2018.

By Dave Flessner 5 min read

WATCH THE CANDIDATES

On Thursday, Oct. 4 at 8 p.m. and again on Sunday Oct. 7 at 7 p.m., WTCI-TV, Channel 45, will broadcast an hour-long “Conversations with the Candidates” that both Karl Dean and Bill Lee” with an encore broadcast on Sunday, October 7 at 7 p.m. The “Northeast Tennessee Gubernatorial Debate” will air on the Tennessee Valley’s community PBS station on Tuesday, October 9 at 8 p.m. and repeat on Sunday, October 14 at 7 p.m.

photo Karl Dean

Bill Lee may run a $225 million-a-year business and live in the wealthiest county in Tennessee, but when the GOP nominee for governor in Tennessee connects to the internet at his cattle farm in Fernvale, Tennessee, he has to use a satellite dish.

“Like a lot of rural areas, we still don’t have broadband and when there is a storm, we play a lot of Yahtzee at home,” Lee quipped Friday.

But Lee said the lack of access to high-speed internet service is no fun and games for many rural residents. For students to study, workers to perform at-home jobs or doctors to practice telemedicine, having access to broadband is critical.