Like rural electrification before it, rural broadband is essential in today’s world. Efforts to ensure all rural communities have accessible, affordable high-speed internet date back many years and continue with urgency today.
Our coverage will help you keep up with the latest, whether it’s new policy proposals and funding programs, leadership from local co-ops, or emerging solutions pitched by the private sector. From fiber cables to weather balloons and satellites in space, our team is following the stories of what’s working to get rural America connected.
Bridging the Digital Divide Across the World, but Common Hurdles Persist to Online Access
Microsoft’s Airband Initiative is working with communities to create public-private partnerships to secure “last mile connectivity” in hard-to-reach, underserved areas around the globe and domestically.
The Latest
More RUral Broadband and Technology Stories
Small Internet Provider Soon to Open a Digital ‘Empowerment Center’ in a Rural Wyoming Town
The company is funding the resource hub that will offer digital technology and a navigator for the community.
Running Fiber-Optic Cable to Rural Communities Is Part of Maine’s Ambitious Broadband Plan
Maine’s governor has pledged that everyone in the state who wants high-speed internet will be able to get it by the end of 2024. In just one small, Down East town, that means installing 60 miles of fiber-optic cable.
Commentary: Do You Really Have the Broadband the FCC Thinks You Have?
Billions of dollars in funding will be administered based on the FCC’s broadband availability map. Is it right? Check your own address and see.
New FCC Broadband Map of the U.S. Is ‘A Step in the Right Direction’
Experts say while the map is an improvement for future money allocation, some issues persist.
Remote Maine County Will Help Launch National Digital Navigators Corps
When the pandemic hit, a digital equity center in Down East Maine helped older residents learn how to use the internet to stay connected and informed. Now a national grant program will give them the chance to train more residents.
Analysis: Access Is Not Everything – With Inadequate Broadband Digital Dignity Is Lacking
New research shows that inadequate broadband can lead to waiting, forcing people to take up unusual schedules, miss work opportunities, and more.
Featured Coverage
Our friends at the Rural Assembly, in partnership with Consumer Reports, invite you to participate in a national campaign called “Let’s Broadband Together.” By uploading your internet bill, performing a quick speed-test, and completing a short survey, you can help researchers measure how well internet infrastructure is serving rural America and whether users are getting what they pay for from their internet-service providers.
The whole process only takes about seven minutes, and none of your personal information will be shared.
Editor’s Note: The Rural Assembly is a program of the nonprofit Center for Rural Strategies, which also publishes the Daily Yonder. Learn more.
Featured Contributor: Craig Settles
Stay connected on rural broadband.
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Even More to Explore In Rural Broadband and Technology
KU Researchers Will Study 5G Access In Rural Communities
In rural areas, populations are more clustered, meaning there is not uniformity, driving up prices of cellular services and leaving some out.
Hope on the Horizon for Rural Residents Facing Broadband Issues
The funding from the federal Bipartisan Infrastructure Law is an opportunity to connect rural residents denied broadband access due to lax market regulations and infrastructure deficits.
New Broadband Maps are Coming. Will Agriculture Be Left Behind Again?
A new federal broadband map is on the way and is supposed to include a list of all buildings that could benefit from broadband access. But a recent change calls into question whether agricultural structures will be included in that list.
Research Report: Telework – and Good Broadband Connectivity – Affected Employment Levels During Pandemic
Counties where more businesses and families have broadband access tended to do better with unemployment during the first year of the pandemic. That’s true even when scholars controlled for other factors that might have affected employment.
Slow Internet Limits Opportunities for Rural New Mexico Youth
With some students living across the U.S.-Mexico border, connectivity challenges for students can be a challenging mix of insufficient funding and complicated international agreements.
Where Are Families Taking Advantage of the Home Broadband Discount?
A new mapping tool identifies places where larger numbers of households could be signing up to reduce the cost of their broadband bill.
Commentary: Rural America Needs Gigi Sohn at the FCC
Sohn has repeatedly stood up for efforts to improve broadband in rural communities. The Senate needs to vote on her nomination now.
Rural America May Experience Service Blackouts as Providers Sunset 3G Technology
The lack of service could be particularly dangerous for individuals dependent on their cellphones to get out of domestic violence situations, experts say.
Small Cities Worry Cybersecurity Money Won’t Reach Them
Experts worry that a complicated application process could make the federal funds for cybersecurity hard to get for smaller communities.
Digital Navigators Help Oklahoma Residents Break Through ‘Digital Divide’
Oklahoma State University and AARP Oklahoma joined forces to run a pilot program at five rural libraries around the state.
Vicious Circle: Tribal Broadband Program Hindered by Lack of Broadband
According to experts, tribal connectivity problems are exacerbated by regulator’s bad quality data, which overestimates existing access to internet on tribal lands.
Telehealth and Broadband Add New Capabilities To Disaster Response
Telemedicine can be an asset to first responders on the frontlines of natural disasters in rural areas. But a successful deployment of this technology will depend on the reliability of available broadband infrastructure.
Broadband Funding: ‘It’s Like History Repeating Itself in a Good Way’
New England states prepare to invest millions of federal dollars to support broadband expansions.
Report: Only a Fraction of Eligible Households Signed up for Emergency Broadband Benefit Service
Experts say the enrollment numbers are “reasonable,” but more should be done to promote the program.
Telehealth May Be Here to Stay
A technology that was once eyed with a measure of doubt by many rural healthcare professionals is posed to become a permanent option for patients in a number of states.
Is Your State Ready to Handle the Influx of Federal Funds for Expanding Broadband?
The federal government is pouring billions of dollars into expanding broadband internet access. But it’s at the state level where the financial rubber meets the fiber-optic road. Some states are ahead of the game while others will have to play catch-up.
Commentary: Holistic Rural Broadband Solutions Are on the Horizon
Federal money dedicated to building out broadband capacity for farmers and others in rural communities could follow a blueprint created by a minority colleges broadband grant. The idea is to approach the Internet needs more comprehensively than ever before.
Research Report: Broadband Drives Growth in Women-led Rural Entrepreneurship
Access to broadband is essential to start-ups in rural America, and that connection is especially important for female entrepreneurs.
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