Government Faces Dilemma over Provision of High-Speed Internet in Rural Areas.

Byline: Jeff Mize

Jul. 10--Some 75 years ago, the federal government decided that electricity should be available in urban and rural communities to ensure that isolated areas do not languish while urban centers prosper.

Now, at the start of a new century, the government is facing a similar issue: providing rural communities with access to high-speed Internet service so they can compete in a global economy.

U.S. Rep. Brian Baird, D-Vancouver, brought two other congressmen to Vancouver Friday for a field hearing on bridging what has been dubbed the "digital divide" between urban and rural areas.

Bo Wandell, president of SafeHarbor.com, a …