Sometimes I think it’s easy, with the concentration of federal politics on the East Coast, to forget that Western states house among the most spread-out rural populations in the country. That means a lot of communities here only get dial-up or satellite Internet access, and often have just one landline provider. Same goes for wireless.

So it was nice this week to attend a symposium focused on bridging the digital gap in five Western states. The event was held by the Coalition for a Connected West here in Phoenix.

First up was Larry Irving. Irving, whom I met for the first time, is one of the big guns, as they say. (He’s scheduled to speak at COMPTEL in about two weeks, too.) He runs his own consulting firm now but was a key figure in the Clinton administration. He was assistant secretary of commerce for communications and information, and also served as administrator of the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA).

Irving’s main message this week was that broadband infrastructure has to accommodate the Exaflood, or volumes of information going on the Internet that will never get smaller. There’s fear the Internet will become less efficient (although not that it will ever hit a ceiling). Western states have an interest in this growth because they want to be part of the information economy.

Diane Smith, another guest speaker, seemed to me the perfect example of how rural communities can take that center technological stage. Smith founded Auroras Entertainment, a Montana-based IPTV company that was one of the larger venture capital-backed startups last year ($30 million is no shabby number). Auroras employs about 50 people in Whitefish, Mont. – not exactly the first place you think of when you picture IPTV innovation. Impressive.

Overall, the coalition’s luncheon was a worthwhile event for policymakers, journalists, carriers and consumers, as well. Larry Irving also was kind enough to spend quite a bit of time with me before the symposium, discussing the upcoming elections and tech policies in general. I’ll share more on the discussion soon.