Innovation to Connect Americans
Innovation to Connect Americans
As Americans find themselves increasingly engaging in social distancing, rural communities are experiencing the true consequences of the digital divide. Residential and business users in low-density areas of the country have not received the same low-latency, high-speed services offered to urban users due in part to the cost of deploying fiber and existing wireless technologies across long distances. Despite reductions in the cost of fiber backhaul and wireless equipment, high deployment, operations, and maintenance costs to reach low-density areas continue to present higher “cost per bit” for broadband services.
Though service providers are doing the best they can with currently available infrastructure, this lack of access to broadband and connectivity undermines the ability of rural communities to effectively access critical activities vital to resilience…