RuralRISE Tech

Jan 24 2023

Why Does Telehealth Access Matter for Rural Broadband?

One-quarter of Americans live in rural areas, but fewer than 10% of U.S. physicians practice in those communities. This shortage of healthcare professionals in rural areas of our country restricts access to healthcare by limiting the supply of available services.

Residents of rural communities deserve the same quality of care to which their metropolitan peers have access. To compensate for this resource gap, healthcare providers are extending telehealth services.

But these efforts are coming up against an additional resource gap — broadband internet connectivity.

Rural broadband connectivity is essential for telehealth expansion, but of the 61 million people residing in rural areas, only 58% of adults have a reliable, high-speed broadband connection at home. (Compare this to 67% in urban and 70% in suburban areas.)

The debate is no longer whether telehealth access benefits residents of rural communities but what is the most effective and impactful way to connect rural communities to the broadband services necessary to provide telemedicine.

Let’s examine the connection.

Telehealth Expansion Necessitates Broadband Expansion

The lag in broadband connectivity experienced by rural communities comes in many forms, including:

Less robust or fewer types of broadband infrastructure available,
High cost of installing broadband infrastructure, and
Unreliable broadband speeds (required to enable innovations in healthcare).

A telehealth provider sits on a green couch with a laptop sitting on a table in front of her.

A recent study found that only 38.6% of the people who live more than a 70-minute drive from a primary care physician subscribe to an internet connection capable of handling telehealth services.

To expand the reach of telehealth services into non-metropolitan communities, we must begin by laying the broadband infrastructure necessary to offer those services.

Broadband Expansion Empowers First Responders

The expansion of broadband coverage benefits emergency responders as well as the citizens they serve.

First responders are essential to the protection of public health and safety. When they enter rural communities, they require reliable connectivity to communicate with one another and seek additional resources for response.

A blue 6-pointed asterisk sign with the word AMBULANCES on it.

FirstNet has created a predictable network of connectivity in rural communities to empower first responders. FirstNet is a nationwide high-speed wireless broadband network deployed on 20 MHz of high-quality spectrum that is constantly evolving to meet public safety needs.

When not in use for an emergency, the FirstNet network is used for other commercial purposes (though first responders will always have priority over others during an emergency).

Two benefits of the FirstNet and telehealth connection are:

Enhanced communications for first responders to dispatch an ambulance to a location once the call is received by the consumer/citizen (fairly weak connection).
The network provides high-quality wireless service to many previously unserved rural areas across the US. This wireless broadband can support telehealth activities like online doctor appointments when not in use for an emergency.

But local communities often lack the resources necessary to bring broadband to their areas. That’s where the federal government can help.

Federal Expansion of Broadband Connectivity and Telehealth Access

Recognizing the need for rural communities to 1) improve broadband access and then 2) establish telehealth provisions, various federal programs have increased opportunities and support for public health organizations to establish broadband connectivity.

The US Capitol Building at sunset, where federal programs have been created to aid rural residents access affordable broadband internet.

There are a number of federal programs providing pathways to affordable broadband. Below are a few that emphasize rural broadband access:

The Office for the Advancement of Telehealth is working to improve health care in rural, urban, and underserved communities. In particular, their telehealth grant programs promote and advance telehealth services in rural areas.

The FCC’s Connect2Health Task Force (C2HFCC) is engaged in ongoing efforts to provide expert input and information to stakeholders from a variety of states throughout the country about the importance of broadband and broadband-enabled technologies (e.g., telemedicine, remote monitoring, etc.) in health care at various telehealth resource center annual conferences.

The Rural Health Care Program (which the FCC also oversees) provides funding to eligible healthcare providers for telecommunications and broadband services necessary for the provision of telehealth. This program aims to improve the quality of healthcare available to patients in rural communities by ensuring eligible healthcare providers have access to telecommunications and broadband services.

The National Map of Telehealth Resource Centers provides assistance, education, and information to organizations and individuals who are actively providing or interested in providing health care at a distance.

The Rural Health Information Hub has created a list of current efforts providing telehealth funding for rural healthcare providers.

The American Connectivity Program (ACP) is a nationwide initiative that helps households afford the broadband they need for work, school, healthcare, and more.

But access isn’t the end of the story.

Digital Literacy’s Impact on Telehealth

Digital literacy refers to a user’s ability to navigate information and communication technologies to find, evaluate, create, and communicate information. This skill is critical when navigating telehealth — like every other skill set, we can teach digital literacy!

It is not enough to simply equip rural communities with broadband infrastructure. To maximize the impact of broadband expansion, users need to understand how to actually use the internet.

A pair of hands holds a tablet. The screen reads CONNECT and shows different social media icons.

Several initiatives are already in place to improve digital literacy, particularly in rural areas. And some digital literacy programs focus on serving marginalized communities in rural areas.

For example, the elderly community are frequent healthcare users and can benefit significantly from improved access to telehealth, but only if they feel confident and comfortable navigating the resource online.

While telehealth and telemedicine are on the upswing in rural America, there’s still much work to be done before equitable access is the norm. So how can you help?

Bringing the Benefits of Telehealth to Rural America

Telehealth is an effective way to combat the harm of reduced resources in rural areas, but only if those communities are connected to the Internet. Establishing robust broadband connectivity in rural communities will strengthen telehealth services that have a direct, positive impact on rural residents.

But getting to a place where all Americans can access broadband and services like telemedicine will take continued care and effort. That’s where you come in.

Do you or your organization work in telehealth?

Do you work to bridge resource gaps like broadband connectivity in rural communities?

Have you struggled with or benefitted from these services as a consumer?

We would love to hear from you and continue the conversation. When we get together to talk about the impact of programs closing the urban-rural healthcare divide, it helps communities understand successful programs and program pitfalls, among other benefits.

Join in the conversation on Twitter or in our LinkedIn or Facebook groups.

Dec 13 2022

Telehealth and Telemedicine: What Are the Benefits for Rural Patients?

Individuals living in rural communities want to stay there. And why not! Ask most rural residents, and they’ll have a long list of the reasons they love their rural community.

And nearly 80% of rural small business owners agree the quality of life and cost of living is much better in rural areas, according to the U.S. Chamber Technology Engagement Center.

All this is true despite the ways rural communities quantitatively lag behind their metropolitan counterparts — for example, access to healthcare providers like hospitals, primary doctors, and specialists.

Access to healthcare is necessary for a thriving community, and residents in rural areas deserve equal access to quality healthcare. So how do rural areas overcome any gaps in healthcare access?

Telehealth offers impactful methods of providing healthcare and outreach to rural communities.

What Is Telehealth?

The telehealth definition used in this article is the delivery of healthcare to individuals over a high-speed internet connection.

What is telemedicine? A healthcare practitioner speaks to a patient via videoconferencing. The patient is holding her hands up to her throat as she describes her symptoms.

In addition to having virtual meetings with healthcare providers, other types of services include:

telemedicine (the provision of remote medical care via the Internet and video conferencing),
electronic medical record keeping, and
portal technology and videoconferencing.

Remote health monitoring tools such as wearables and biosensors that track and report personal health information have also become commonplace for remote health care.

Combined, these methods of communicating with healthcare providers help close the rural-urban healthcare access divide.

Before we examine the benefits of telehealth in rural areas, let’s talk about rural healthcare in general.

What Does Healthcare Look Like in Rural Communities?

Regardless of community size, access to routine healthcare and preventative care have long-term, positive impacts on a person’s health. Additionally, when healthcare resources are commonplace, a community flourishes.

The outside of a rural hospital, showing the brick facade and vehicles lined up at the entrance.

Rural communities, however, are experiencing barriers to commonplace healthcare provisions. Unfortunately, hospitals across rural America are closing at an alarming rate.

According to the U.S. Government Accountability Office, over 100 rural hospitals closed from 2013 to 2020, forcing people living in those areas to travel farther to get the same healthcare services — about 20 miles farther for services like inpatient care and double that for services like alcohol or drug abuse treatment.

People living in rural communities have limited access to healthcare institutions, travel long distances to receive care, and (because of these factors) often delay needed care until after they have a health emergency. The cost associated with traveling for medical care puts an additional burden on rural patients that may discourage them from seeking care.

Limited access to healthcare can result in poor health outcomes and is a social and economic burden for both the patient and the healthcare system at large.

Advancements in telehealth – and expanding those services to rural communities – can be used to make up for expanding gaps in health services.

What Are the Benefits of Telehealth in Rural Communities?

People in rural America are growing increasingly comfortable with telehealth and telemedicine.

A woman sits beside a child on a couch, holding a thermometer. There is a tablet sitting on the table in front of them as they wait for a telemedicine appointment.

Telehealth is already an effective approach for doctors to monitor their patients’ chronic conditions, like heart or lung disease. Better monitoring can improve quality of life and reduce hospital admissions and deaths from chronic diseases.

Rural hospitals have fewer resources to provide their patrons, such as specialists or outpatient programs. But telehealth empowers rural hospitals to partner with larger hospitals, work with established online programming for outpatients, and connect to specialists in other communities to make up for these gaps in service.

Telehealth resources facilitate communication between hospitals, which impacts patient care through communication, recommendations for ongoing care, organ donation, patient transport, and more.

The CDC recognizes telehealth as a critical resource for healthcare, both now and in the future, especially for providing care specifically to rural Americans. Because of this, the organization offers various telehealth services targeting common health issues common to rural residents.

One example is the CDC telehealth stroke services which connect hospitals in rural areas with telehealth doctors and specialists outside of their communities to improve the outcomes of patients receiving treatment after experiencing a stroke.

In an effort to expand telehealth to institutions, the CDC has created case studies (HabitNU, Inova, and Inspera Health) that describe successful program structure, technologies used, and implementation steps, along with lessons learned.

But every rural resident isn’t comfortable with talking to their doctor without being face to face.

Why Are Rural Residents Wary of Online Telehealth?

Telehealth is a relatively new healthcare field, and some patients are suspicious of its drawbacks.

Two men, a doctor and a patient, sit in an examination room looking at an X-ray.

According to one review of telehealth interventions and outcomes across rural communities, disadvantages of telehealth interventions included having telemedicine visits with unknown providers and technological issues such as loss of connectivity and limited Wi-Fi access.

Rural residents place a high value on members of their own communities and can be wary of meeting with unfamiliar healthcare providers.

However, acceptance of telehealth during the pandemic accelerated to the point that many barriers to telemedicine use – including trust – may have begun to disappear. Furthermore, telehealth is now available almost everywhere, meaning patients can connect to primary care providers with whom they have an established relationship!

However, along with the other limitations and challenges of telehealth, we can’t forget that the foundational requirement of affordable, accessible broadband and cellular connectivity remains an obstacle.

So, where do rural areas go from here?

Telehealth in Rural Areas: What’s Next?

As telehealth improves, individuals across rural America are empowered to seek healthcare providers more often, preventatively, and consult specialists that meet their unique needs.

One review concluded that telemedicine in rural areas decreases travel time, improves communication with providers, increases access to care, increases self-awareness, and empowers patients to manage their chronic conditions. These benefits are critical to residents in rural communities.

Rural providers also benefit from telehealth as institutions are empowered to expand their provisions by connecting their patients to telehealth resources, decreasing missed appointments and patient wait times, as well as improving patient care quality.

While limitations of telehealth exist, the field is quickly improving and expanding patient care across the country, with unique benefits available to rural communities. Conversations about the impact of programs that close the urban-rural healthcare divide help communities understand successful programs and program pitfalls.

Do you or your organization work in telehealth? What is your experience with telemedicine? We would love to hear from you and share additional resources. We invite you to share your experiences by commenting here and visiting us on Twitter (@RuralRISE).

Oct 12 2022

How Replenishing America’s Spectrum Pipeline Will Result in Better Rural Wireless Service

The wireless industry has been on a journey to continuously improve networks since its inception two decades ago. The newest generation of wireless technology, 5G, is designed to enhance some of the current industrial technology rural America runs on.

As wireless technology continues to improve, the networks themselves will need more wireless spectrum. Additional wireless spectrum for 5G networks will enable farmers to monitor crops, inspect soil conditions, and measure carbon levels at faster and more reliable speeds than ever before.

But what does that mean for rural residents?

5G Will Revolutionize Rural America

5G technology delivers fast download speeds and quick connection times in areas currently deploying 5G networks. For rural areas, everything from education to healthcare will be revolutionized once 5G networks are deployed and accessible to rural users.

For remote learners in rural communities, 5G mobile broadband helps close connectivity gaps so students can connect to educational resources anywhere.

A person types on a laptop with a stethoscope next to them. Healthcare will be positively impacted by improved 5G coverage.

In healthcare, professionals use 5G to monitor diagnostics, manage hospital inventory, and even support robot-assisted surgery. This is game-changing in rural areas where patients are driving as much as 2 hours to access quality healthcare, then are sometimes unable to return to that provider for follow-up appointments or necessary ongoing therapies.

With 5G networks, the innovations are exciting, and the opportunities are endless. We know what’s next for rural residents with 5G: dependable precision agriculture data collection, consistent access to first-class learning materials and practices, and improved healthcare.

But how do we get there and make these exciting 5G innovations possible?

Replenishing the Spectrum Pipeline

To keep America competitive, we should start by replenishing America’s pipeline of wireless spectrum.

Think of spectrum as communications signals that power everything from mobile phones to satellite TV. Spectrum also supports 5G networks, delivering profound social, economic, and environmental benefits to small and rural communities.

A cell phone with 5G wireless and several apps on the screen.

Unfortunately, the United States is out of step with our competitors when it comes to spectrum policy. Simply put, America’s pipeline of wireless spectrum is running out, and we risk losing out on cutting-edge innovations unless we fill the gaps.

A new report from Accenture found that the commercial wireless industry holds just 5% of lower mid-band spectrum – compared to 61% held by the government.

Mid-band spectrum is best for deploying 5G technology and innovation across rural America. To do so, the wireless industry must play a more active role, and government should repurpose valuable spectrum so wireless assets are managed more efficiently.

Replenishing the spectrum pipeline begins by identifying spectrum bands that can be repurposed from government use for commercial 5G and used to their full potential.

One place to look is the 3.1 to 3.45 GHz band. This band’s large coverage range makes it ideal for supporting 5G and fixed wireless access in rural areas.

Another reason is mid-band spectrum boasts speeds similar to broadband internet in some instances, which makes it a convenient solution for rural residents without home internet.

Closing the Rural Digital Divide is Within Reach

Delivering fiber internet service to the home is the gold standard of connectivity, but deploying fiber across the U.S. will take time. No one should have to settle for sub-par service or sit outside a local library simply to access the internet.

Luckily, 5G has an immediate role to play in filling connectivity gaps. Accenture estimates that industry’s 5G fixed wireless deployments could serve nearly half of rural households in a much shorter timeframe.

Necessary tools to close the rural digital divide are out there. Millions of households, thousands of businesses, and countless entrepreneurs living in small and rural communities across America are ready to innovate, but they need wireless tools to get started.

5G does not come without challenges. But regardless of your thoughts on 5G, it will be a component in closing the rural digital divide along with other solutions.

We’re calling on policymakers to replenish the spectrum pipeline so 5G can unlock next-generation innovations for rural America.

Oct 04 2022

How the Rural-Urban Divide Impacts Digital and Technology Literacy

As most people know, traditional literacy refers to reading, writing, and the skills needed to perform those tasks, such as phonetics, context clues, and a willingness to think critically about communication.

As a society, we are developing a more modern type of scholarship – digital literacy – which takes literacy skills and applies them to technology.

Digital literacy, sometimes called technology literacy, uses information and communication technologies to find, evaluate, create, and communicate information, requiring cognitive and technical skills.

Digital literacy expands the scope of traditional literacy by including skills such as:

interacting with varying technology devices,
using digital applications,
digital production,
critical consumption of media and websites,
courseware, or
cloud computing.

But what does digital literacy look like in rural areas?

Digital Literacy’s Rural-Urban Divide

The gap between people who have access to broadband services (and know how to use them) and those who don’t is referred to as the “digital divide.”

Many factors contribute to this digital divide, including age, socioeconomic status, race, and living conditions, such as rural and urban community living. In addition, the current landscape of broadband infrastructure – who has Internet access and how they get it – influences technology literacy.

As broadband infrastructure is deployed across more accessible, affluent, and densely populated communities, low-income, minority, and rural communities have been neglected; their experience of low digital literacy contributes to this digital divide.

Of the 25 million Americans without broadband access, 19 million live in rural areas. Survey data from the Pew Research Center reports that 58% of adults in rural areas have a high-speed broadband connection at home, as opposed to 67% in urban areas and 70% in suburban areas.

The COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated this rural-urban digital divide and made Americans more aware of the importance of digital literacy for daily living.

Telehealth, for example, has drastically expanded under the COVID-19 pandemic. Where possible, more providers now rely on technology to assist rural residents with health concerns, prescriptions, and treatments.

With this digital gap potentially holding back rural areas, what can our communities do to help bridge the divide?

Digital Literacy Skills Teaching

Just like traditional literacy, we can teach digital literacy. A number of initiatives are already in place that work to improve technology literacy. Some of these efforts target rural communities to help close the rural-urban divide.

Here are a few examples of these technology literacy programs:

Schools are critical players in the advancement of digital literacy. The federal E-Rate program has encouraged broadband deployment to rural schools and libraries. As schools and libraries integrate these digital tools into their curriculums, users are more likely to develop digital literacy skills.

The U.S Department of Education has many digital literacy initiatives, including a program focused on teaching adults how to use digital tools for problem-solving.

The private business Techboomer is a free educational website that teaches older adults and other inexperienced Internet users basic computer skills to help improve their quality of life. In addition to many online classes, they assembled a list of the 31 Best Digital Literacy Organizations; each includes a link to the organization’s webpage, a short description of its background, and its primary goal.

DigitalLead is working to increase digital skills programming and access to technology in rural communities, specifically in rural libraries. Libraries apply for the program that provides hardware and digital skills training and resources, helping rural populations reap the benefits of broadband internet connectivity.

The Rural LISC Digital Navigators program is increasing digital literacy for all rural residents by connecting residents to discounted or subsidized Internet service plans. Rural LISC is also pursuing strategies to increase internet adoption, including:

affordable housing communities that work to deploy low-cost or free connectivity in common areas and residential units, and
increasing the availability of public-access WiFi networks by engaging small businesses.

Let’s also look at the people and organizations most impacted by technology literacy in rural areas.

Who Will Benefit from Improved Digital Literacy?

From the self-checkout line to online banking to vetting which recipe you want to use at home, digital literacy is becoming entwined in day-to-day American life and will become even more critical as technology continues to advance.

Teaching and learning digital literacy skills is as relevant now as it ever has been, especially as we seek to reduce the current digital divide.

Rural residents can benefit from improved digital literacy in many ways. Let’s look at a few of them.

Students in rural education systems can benefit from digital literacy programs and programs that integrate technology into the classroom. Education technology connects rural students with resources outside of their immediate learning environment.

For example, rural schools may not offer Advanced Placement courses which prepare students for college, but with the right technology available, students can virtually participate in those courses.

Furthermore, more colleges offer education virtually, and the Online Learning Consortium reports that one in four students is taking courses online.

Improved digital literacy will empower elderly residents of rural areas to access online community resources and simple tools like grocery shopping and bill pay. In addition, there are efforts to connect elderly rural residents to telehealth resources to cut their cost of care and improve relationships with primary care physicians.

Rural immigrants can access cultural community resources and second-language training tools. Furthermore, the internet is a valuable tool for immigrants who use it to communicate with community members in their nation of origin.

From a workforce development perspective, closing the gap in digital literacy is critical to ensuring individuals can participate in an increasingly digital economy. Job seekers use the internet for job searches, communication with potential employers, and training.

Tribal Lands are characterized by rural and remote locations, and residents on Tribal Lands have some of the lowest rates of broadband access; this makes the need to close this gap even more significant.

For Indigenous people, the internet is a tool for cultural survival and a hub for languages and traditions. Those who have access to the Internet can virtually learn traditional skills, find role models, create community, obtain an education, access healthcare, and more.

Knowing all this, you might wonder what’s next for rural digital literacy.

Closing the Rural-Urban Digital Divide

In this modern era, digital literacy is increasingly necessary, with technology woven into daily life. Closing the urban-rural divide will benefit not only our nation as a whole but also specific rural residents, including students, elderly individuals, immigrants, and Tribal Land residents.

As we move into this new digital age, conversations about the impact of programs closing the urban-rural digital literacy divide will help communities understand what it takes to build successful programs and potential program pitfalls.

We want to know: what are your experiences with current solutions, resources, and programs for digital literacy? You’re invited to share your personal experiences by commenting here or visiting us on Twitter (@RuralRISE).

Aug 30 2022

5 Infrastructure Options to Increase Rural Broadband Internet Access

For inhabitants of urban areas, Internet access feels like a guarantee. However, rural residents know that having access to reliable Internet is anything but certain.

To bridge that connectivity gap and help expand the reach of broadband service to rural areas, the Affordable Connectivity Program was created in late 2021.

But what kind of infrastructure is available to rural communities looking to expand access to all residents? Multiple types of infrastructure can create broadband connectivity, each with unique benefits and drawbacks. In all cases, cost is a driving consideration.

No singular solution will work to equip all rural areas with high-speed broadband because every area has a unique baseline of resources available and different considerations when selecting broadband infrastructure that works for their region.

This post breaks down five kinds of Internet infrastructure and where rural communities might best utilize it.

Five Types of Broadband Infrastructure

Broadband infrastructure refers to the networks of deployed telecommunications equipment and technologies necessary to provide high-speed Internet access.

The most commonly used broadband infrastructures include plain old telephone services, fiber-optic cables, satellites, 4G and 5G networks, and fixed-wireless networks.

Let’s look at each in detail, including the benefits and drawbacks.

1. Plain Old Telephone Service (POTS)

Plain Old Telephone Service is the traditional analog phone service operating through physical copper wires.

These are the old-school telephone poles and wires draped along roadsides and over hills, connecting individual homes to communication networks.

The benefits of upgrading the POTS system are clear:

Copper wires in good condition can be enhanced with the addition of a modem (a digital device that converts phone data into a data format that’s transmissible through the POTS), yielding high-speed internet connectivity.

Established telephone lines in rural areas are commonplace, which makes them an excellent resource for expanding high-speed internet to rural areas. Modems in the home physically connect a computer to the Internet through a cable and provide fast and stable connections.

The list of drawbacks, however, is not insignificant:

Signal interference often comes from inclement weather; because the infrastructure is out in the open, damage to the poles and wires will interrupt services.

Attenuation (the loss of signal over distance) occurs as a user is further from robust POTS infrastructure.

Users also experience asymmetrical speeds for uploading and downloading.

2. Fiber-Optic Cables

Unlike the copper cables in POTS systems which use electrical voltage to transmit data, fiber-optic cables are broadband-specific cables buried underground that create a communicating network of glass or plastic carrying light (data).

This revolutionary invention provides a fast and reliable internet connection, and because the cables are buried, the quality of the connection is not impacted by weather and is infrequently damaged.

Certainly, drawbacks exist:

It is a labor-intensive resource to deploy (and not cheap)!

For example, the cost for providers to install fiber-optic calves is between $1 and $6 per linear foot of cable. However, this does not include labor and machinery, conduit, and any unforeseen setbacks a large installation might face.

Furthermore, burying cables is challenging in rough terrain, which elevates the cost and may be prohibitive to the process. In addition, there are sometimes right-of-way concerns.

Despite the drawbacks, this technology has been used for decades and will remain the dominant method of transmitting information for the foreseeable future.

Given the preference for this method, there have been some advances in the deployment process.

For example, some engineers are using a method called microtrenching, where instead of burying the cables three feet below the ground as is traditional, a narrow cut in the ground is made that’s approximately 1-2 inches wide and up to one foot deep.

A State to Emulate

North Dakota offers a success story in the deployment of fiber-optic cable networks. The state installed hundreds of miles of high-speed fiber-optic cables through a federal program launched under President Obama, the Broadband Technology Opportunities Program (BTOP).

Through BTOP, North Dakota prioritized running high-speed fiber-optic cables to large universities around the state. Establishing these public institutions as hubs for high-speed internet increased the number of anchor networks around the state and decreased the middle mile gap.

As shown on the map below, North Dakota has some of the most effective high-speed Internet in the nation.

Image Source: How Did North Dakota Become the Crown Jewel of the Internet in the Midwest?

3. Satellite Internet

Satellite Internet uses a satellite dish that facilitates two-way (upload and download) data transmission. Individual users place a small satellite dish on top of their roof or another static object on their property, transmitting data signals from the at-home satellite dish to one in orbit around the Earth.

Installing a satellite dish is simple and once established, the Internet connection is immediate and often faster than a POTS connection. Compared to fiber-optic, however, satellite service is slower.

Its ease of installment and non-reliance on larger Internet providers is a significant perk for users in rural and remote areas. However, while a satellite server would not be subject to the functionality of an entire system such as the POTS and fiber-optic, damage to the individual device is possible and would immediately interrupt service.

Additionally, satellite service sometimes experiences signal interference due to weather.

Cost to the user is one drawback of satellite service. The average cost of a satellite internet plan is $110/month, not including the initial cost of purchasing the satellite and having it installed, altogether a few hundred dollars.

4. 4G and 5G Networks

Mobile/Cellular carriers provide 4G (fourth generation) and 5G (fifth generation) networks of cellular communication, which use radio waves to transmit data that enables Internet connection.

The difference between 4G and 5G is the data transmission speed. 5G networks are more efficient, capable of handling more connections per antenna and providing faster upload and download speeds; 5G will eventually replace the 4G network.

And antennas that navigate these radio waves can be placed on established infrastructure like telephone poles and public institutions.

The ubiquity and portability of mobile devices like cell phones make this method of internet connectivity desirable.

Once providers install the 4G or 5G antennas, users immediately benefit. While 4G networks were designed with cellphones in mind, 5G networks are designed to be compatible with other industrial technology.

Farmers in rural America already benefit from this advanced infrastructure as they use high-tech tractors to coordinate planting, watering, harvesting, and crop data.

Unsurprisingly, reliable cellular access is still challenging in rural and remote areas, with people reporting spotty to no coverage. Because of this, as 4G and 5G networks expand, providers will need to consider how to reach areas that still lack adequate cell coverage.

5. Fixed-Wireless Networks

Fixed-wireless networks are stationary towers and antennas that carry data through radio waves transmitting a carrier’s signal across frequencies. Significantly, this technology advances 5G networks of cellular communication that enable Internet connection.

Fixed-wireless deployment relies on a central tower that broadcasts signals to other receivers installed on individual users. Like a satellite dish, a 5G antenna can be installed on a user’s property and provide a wireless connection to multiple personal devices.

Much like 4G and 5G networks, the main benefit of fixed-wireless networks is that it builds upon the commonplace technology of cell phone service. It also rivals fiber-optic cable connectivity in speed.

However, the cost of bringing a fixed-wireless network to the home is not insignificant. Similar to satellite connectivity, there is a cost for installation and varying equipment such as the antenna, router, and surge protector.

Another commonly cited drawback to fixed-wireless is that when multiple devices are connected to a fixed-wireless antenna and used simultaneously, the connection becomes less effective. Attenuation is also a factor for fixed-wireless networks, with greater distance from the antenna reducing the connection speeds.

And similar to the 4G and 5G networks, in areas with little to no existing cell phone coverage, there is reduced opportunity for fixed-wireless networks.

Given the options for bringing broadband to rural America, the average urbanite might think it’s simple to achieve. But as any rural resident can tell you, it’s a little more complicated.

Broadband Internet Infrastructure Options for Rural Areas

While demand for high-speed internet is high, there is no single “right” answer for bringing that connectivity to rural communities.

Not all communities, for example, have a POTS that they can modify to provide Internet connectivity. A satellite or 5G option would be more effective in that case.

Ultimately, the answer to how to bring high-speed Internet to rural America will be multifaceted, using all infrastructure deployment methods.

In an effort to share stories of success nationwide, and given the unique solutions each community will need to deploy to provide their residents with broadband internet, we invite you to share your experience by leaving a comment here or starting a conversation on Twitter (@RuralRISE).