Addressing the rural internet deficit by amending the federal BEAD program

Nearly 25% of rural Americans lack access to high speed broadband internet. Without internet access, geographically isolated communities are growing increasingly technologically isolated. This phenomenon -- the rural internet deficit -- harms rural American communities in a number of ways. 

To start, rural communities lacking adequate internet access, relative to their urban counterparts, are placed at a significant economic disadvantage. Studies indicate that "increased broadband access contributes to job and population growth, lower unemployment rates, and more business formation."

The rural internet deficit also has a direct negative impact on public health. On this point, the American Public Health Association has noted the following: 

[Today], it is almost impossible to consult a physician without access to telecommunications technology in the United States. The nation's health care systems . . . have shifted most ambulatory care to telehealth, primarily video visits. . . . Without [broadband internet access], patients cannot fully use telehealth in all its forms: asynchronous messaging via patient portals, remote monitoring devices such as blood pressure monitors, or synchronous video connections to consult with a physician.

Additionally, as noted by the National Center for Education Statistics, "students who do not have access to the Internet at home may be at risk for negative academic outcomes." 

So, what are the causes of the rural internet deficit?

The rural internet deficit can be primarily understood as a function of the relative spatial isolation of rural communities. As outlined by one Pew report

[h]ousing in rural areas, including low-income housing, is often spread out across greater distances than it is in urban regions. This increases the cost of building out the infrastructure needed to provide broadband access and means there are relatively few customers to subscribe to the service. As a result, [internet service providers] [or "ISPs"] do not see a favorable return on investment for deploying that infrastructure and often require federal or state subsidies to do so.

In addition to spatial isolation, lower median incomes amongst rural households decrease the likelihood that a given rural family will personally invest into broadband internet. The fact that many rural communities are home to older populations has also been cited as a factor driving the rural internet deficit. 

So, what are some possible solutions to address the rural internet crisis? 

In light of the lack of incentive that ISPs have to invest into rural internet infrastructure, it comes as no surprise that most of the proposed solutions, thus far, have centered on government funding. For instance, in 2021, the Biden Administration rolled out the Broadband, Equity, Access, and Deployment ("BEAD") program. This program sought to address the rural internet deficit by, amongst other things, providing federal subsidies to private companies that invest into rural internet infrastructure. 

However, over the course of the last four years, the BEAD program has proven unsuccessful in bridging the rural internet divide. Reports indicate that, to date, the program has not brought a single new internet connection to a rural household. 

One possible reason for BEAD's failure is that the program has failed to address the primary cause of the rural internet deficit -- geography. 

Currently, BEAD precludes companies willing to establish new rural internet connections via satellite from taking advantage of the program's subsidies. Rather, only companies willing to install fiber-optic cables qualify for BEAD subsidies. This is problematic because installing fiber-optic lines in rural communities is highly expensive and time consuming, due to geographical nature of rural areas. As noted by one report,  "[c]ost estimates for laying fiber-optic cable range from more than $12 per foot in rural areas with soft ground to $20 per foot — which is $105,600 per mile — in rocky terrain." 

So, one possible solution to the rural internet deficit would simply be to amend BEAD to allow satellite internet provides to take a advantage of the program's subsidies. By doing so, the geographic hurdles that have historically stymied the development of rural internet infrastructure would become a non-issue. Additionally, in contrast to fiber-optic internet, satellite internet connection can be established in a home within hours. 

In sum, the rural internet deficit harms the overall well-being of rural communities in a number of ways. The primary cause of the lack of internet access in rural America is the geographical nature of these communities; specifically, because rural communities are so spatially isolated, there is a high cost associated with developing rural internet infrastructure. These high costs, in turn, disincentivize ISPs from investing into rural areas. One possible solution to addressing the rural internet deficit would be to amend the federal BEAD program, so that satellite internet providers may qualify for BEAD subsidies. This solution would provide for new rural internet connections, while taking the limiting geographical considerations out of the equation.