Some Indiana legislators and policy experts hope a bill moving forward from the Senate Utilities Committee will help expand rural parts of the state's access to broadband internet.

Tipmont REMC is rolling out high-speed internet services in Tippecanoe County and the rural towns of Romney, New Richmond and Linden.

Rural electricity company Tipmont REMC has acquired internet provider Wintek Corporation, in hopes of expanding broadband to rural residents in west central Indiana.

Researchers evaluated possible benefits high-speed broadband would have for the area in education, farm incomes, workforce development and healthcare.

Former Nashville, Indiana, town manager Scott Rudd will serve as the state's first director of broadband opportunities.

Proposed legislation attempts to lay the ground work for connecting rural areas across Indiana by defining standard speed for broadband internet.

Eighty-four percent of Hoosiers have broadband internet access. Those that don't live mostly in rural places - where poor connectivity is an economic problem.

The final contract must still be negotiated, then approved by the Finance Authority and the State Budget Committee.

The debate between Republican Suzanne Crouch and Democrat Christina Hale included discussions of rural broadband access, soil and water conservation funding, and attracting young talent to Indiana's farms.

A new report from Purdue University says the Internet connectivity gap is widening between the state's rural and urban counties.