Opinion: Rural innovation is just beginning, thanks to broadband

In today’s interconnected world where American competitiveness on the global stage turns more than ever on the nationwide quality and capability of connections, “good enough” isn’t good enough when it comes to internet access, whether at home, at work or on the go. A robust, reliable and affordable broadband connection is a necessity to participate in an increasingly online world.

The ability to create with the click of a mouse or the touch of a screen is democratizing innovation. Looking closer, it’s clear who has stepped up to make robust, reliable and affordable broadband connectivity a reality in rural America. The data confirm that community-based providers have led the charge by leveraging a strong local commitment, private capital and government loan and support programs to ensure that millions of rural Americans have access to voice and broadband connectivity that is reasonably comparable in price and quality to those in urban areas.

A backstop of relative regulatory certainty — continued efforts to clear inefficient “regulatory underbrush” paired with steady common-sense rules of the road that provide predictability for long-term investments in deeply rural markets — has only furthered these efforts.

This work is now bearing fruit through positive impacts on both employment and income in areas served by local entities and public funding, which help make the business case for investment in and the sustainability of rural networks. What’s more, these effects increase over time. 

A landmark peer-reviewed 2024 study by the Center on Rural Innovation found rural counties with high levels of broadband engagement had business growth rates 213% higher than counties with low broadband engagement. In these high-engagement counties, self-employment growth rates were 10% higher, per capita income rates were 18% higher and GDP growth rates were 44% higher.

In recent years, a series of broadband grant programs has sought to replicate the early successes of smaller community-based providers by injecting upfront capital to prompt deployment of networks in underserved rural areas. But as the rubber starts to meet the road on these grant programs, we need to shift our focus to what will make all of this work sustainable — considering not just the one-time act of building a network but the need for a lasting impact that will empower innovation in rural America for decades to come through robust, reliable and affordable connectivity.

Residents and businesses alike won’t relocate to or stay in rural America if they don’t trust that the connectivity they get today will empower them to innovate tomorrow and for years to come.

Thus, in a “post-grant” world where new networks should connect previously unserved communities, and where other rural areas will be looking to further leverage the robust networks to which they already had access, we should pivot to a rural innovation agenda that considers the use of these networks and services over a longer horizon. Put another way, the work of rural innovation is just beginning when the rural network construction ends.

Against this backdrop, these are the specific steps that policymakers should take to promote and fulfill this rural innovation agenda:

• Streamline processes for deployment and upgrading of cutting-edge networks by reforming permitting rules and tackling system, process and “human gaps”;

• Address barriers to efficiency and effectiveness that undermine the delivery of robust, reliable and affordable services by reforming burdensome regulatory frameworks, improving broadband data; and planning ahead for supply chain and workforce strains; and

• Promote certainty through stable and effective regulatory frameworks — especially for small rural businesses — by aggressively pursuing regulatory reform, executed with data-driven care and without imposing “flash cuts,” all while ensuring that existing rural connectivity will remain robust, reliable and affordable.

For over a century, policymakers have recognized that the business case for deploying communications networks and delivering services in rural America is challenging. And for over a century, they have designed frameworks to help ensure that rural Americans can access services that are comparable in price and quality to what urban Americans enjoy. Providers have reacted accordingly.

We can’t backtrack on this longstanding commitment to rural America and risk leaving these communities with lower-quality and higher-priced connectivity. A rural innovation agenda that builds upon successful frameworks and lessons learned will be critical to ensuring that investments we make today make a lasting impact in rural America and enhance America’s standing in an increasingly interconnected and competitive global marketplace.

Mike Romano is CEO of NTCA–The Rural Broadband Association.