How Stakeholders Close the Rural Connectivity Gap

With an estimated 13.6 million American households unserved, underserved and even somewhat served with terrestrial broadband, rural areas throughout the country remain among those most challenged when it comes to securing quality connectivity. The Covid-19 pandemic exposed the extent of the digital divide, revealing accessibility inadequacies and drawing attention to the dire need to expand connectivity to all Americans. Access is critical, and the reality is that the digital divide is an issue that spans both geography and politics, and so must our connectivity solutions. Addressing the digital divide in the U.S. requires an all-in approach to connectivity solutions that includes satellite internet to connect our most rural communities.

Fortunately, the government and internet service providers (ISPs) are working together to assist Americans who struggle to afford connectivity. Through initiatives like the FCC's Affordable Connectivity Program, which offers discounts on internet service plans to low-income and underserved households, we can provide discounted internet service plans to low-income and otherwise underserved households. Beyond the Affordable Connectivity Program, the Federal government has made additional funding available for broadband infrastructure deployment, including $65 billion appropriated by the Bipartisan Infrastructure package, to ensure that every American has access to affordable, reliable high-speed internet. Similarly, the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) Program, established by the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), appropriates $42.45 billion for states, territories, and the District of Columbia (DC) to utilize for broadband deployment, mapping, and adoption projects.

While the potential to help low-income and underserved households secure and maintain internet connectivity is enormous, not all internet service providers are equally capable of helping our most rural communities. The fact of the matter is that many cable and fiber ISPs cannot or will not invest and build infrastructure in sparsely populated areas because the cost is too high to justify the business case. For example, in an area of low density — say five to 10 households per square mile — $1 million is enough to fund fiber connections for fewer than 200 households. Alternatively, that $1 million in funding can connect 1,000 households with satellite internet. Even with the upfront funding from the government, many carriers will turn a blind eye and not apply. Low-density areas come with the challenge of sustainability. The lack of monetizable households makes them unattractive to carriers, for they don't represent positive cash flow. While government funding will bring technology into these areas, it is the burden of maintaining it that will hamper the carriers.

To blanket our country with high-speed connectivity, the technology required needs to be as diverse as the landscape being covered. No single solution can address density challenges, financial considerations and topography. The technology to deliver access equity to all needs to be a mosaic of solutions, some terrestrial, some aerial and some interstellar. In rural areas, satellite internet remains one of the best means of connecting communities beyond the reach of adequate wireline service. In fact, geostationary (GEO) satellites have been the workhorses of rural connectivity for years — steadfastly and reliably. Satellite connectivity is extremely well-positioned to lead here. Satellite providers are prioritizing these rural markets and expanding the geographical reach of broadband to underserved communities. Meanwhile, other players in the connectivity ecosystem have decreased infrastructure spending in rural markets to account for larger network buildouts in urban areas. In fact, a report from Open Signal found that mobile operators have been focused on deploying 5G networks in states where most of the population lives in urban areas at the expense of rural communities.

As senior vice president at a satellite provider, I've seen firsthand how those in my field continue to develop solutions by investing billions of their own dollars to better serve rural populations, including optimizing current services and innovating advanced satellites and multipath services. For example, Hughes recently launched HughesNet® Fusion Plans, a new multipath satellite and wireless offering that offers customers a more responsive internet experience. The company's upcoming JUPITER™ 3 satellite also will bring even greater capacity and higher speed plans to customers in rural markets when it launches in 2023.

There are too many Americans in need to rely on one type of provider, or one form of internet connection to bridge the digital divide. It's important that policymakers understand that satellite-based internet is the common-sense rural internet option for those who live outside the reach of fiber and cellular networks. As demonstrated through new multipath technologies that pair satellite and wireless offerings, partnerships across the connectivity ecosystem provide the simplest and most rapid means of connecting the unconnected. For customers with high bandwidth needs who live in dense, urban areas, wireline connections like fiber infrastructure may be their best option. Alternatively, customers who live in cities without fiber may be best suited to pursuing a cable internet provider. Meanwhile, mobile-first customers might entirely rely on cellular connections over 4G or 5G.

Internet access is a lifeline for millions of people to work, learn, access critical information and stay connected with friends and family. Without readily available internet connectivity solutions, the unserved and underserved remain in jeopardy of falling behind. The future is one that is driven by a collaborative, concerted and collective effort by an assortment of internet service providers harnessing the power of all available technologies affordably and reliably for everyone.