Rural Communities and the National Broadband Imperative 2022

Rural communities are an integral part of the American economy, security, and identity. However, on the whole, rural areas lag behind urban and suburban areas in broadband deployment and adoption. The solution to the problem of rural needs for broadband will not, however, be one-size-fits-all; rural communities vary in the infrastructure already available for broadband development and vary in their demands for broadband resources. The following 12 policy recommendations are meant to bridge the American rural digital divide:

1. Create a Rural Broadband Information Clearinghouse: Create an easy-to-locate, accessible resource clearinghouse that centralizes solutions, data, and information for their own community. An effective clearinghouse will reduce the administrative burdens to build out their broadband networks.
2. Reduce Regulatory Impediments: Eliminate and reduce unnecessary rules and regulations around broadband deployment. Broadband policies should improve the availability of affordable broadband services in rural areas, including the underserved and unserved areas in rural America.
3. Identify and Leverage Local Rural Technology Champions: It is imperative that all levels of policy conversations around broadband include the input of people living and working in those rural communities. Obtaining buy-in from local communities assists with adoption and affordability.
4. Leverage Technology as an Enabler and Not an End: Broadband solutions will need to be tailored to specific community needs. Policies should remain technology-neutral to allow for current and future deployment.
5. Mapping for Rural Communities: Mapping on a house-by-house, location-by-location basis is important to understand where broadband internet service is available and to show where broadband issues and connectivity are lacking.
6. Affordable Access: Providers should be encouraged to offer programs for adoption addressing broadband affordability for consumers. Providers should be made aware of and encouraged to participate in the existing and future federal broadband affordability programs.
7. Leverage Local Anchor Institutions and Other Partners: Anchor institutions like schools, libraries, hospitals, medical or healthcare providers, community colleges, and other institutions of higher education can be leveraged for greater adoption.
8. Increase Digital Literacy: Consider having local rural organizations drive adoption by developing programs specifically geared toward specific demographics (i.e., aging, immigrants, etc.). For successful adoption, the internet must be shown to be helpful in everyday life.
9. Middle Mile: Approving the funding for middle-mile infrastructure reduces the cost of rural community members while simultaneously ensuring that the anchor institutions which are essential to rural life have broadband.
10. Workforce Development: Rural broadband offers significant opportunities to live and work in rural communities, creating and maintaining jobs that sometimes pay higher than local wages.
11. Change Matching Grant Requirements for Rural Communities: To deploy grant funding, change requirements for matching funds to accommodate the funding challenges that rural communities will face.
12. State Framework: Policies should provide a framework for states to determine the application process in a fair and straightforward manner. There should not be blanket prioritization and strategies for states, each state is unique.