Rural telecommunications companies want more cellular spending in infrastructure package

While the bipartisan infrastructure package may help the nation’s most remote communities get connected to the Internet through fiber-optic cables, rural telecommunications companies say even fiber links won’t fix another big communications problem in their communities — a lack of cellphone towers that leaves many residents and first-responders with extremely poor mobile service. Their concerns underscore the complexity of modern communications networks, which require steep spending to dig the ditches, lay the cable and build the cellular towers to connect far-flung communities. In the most rural areas, it’s the sort of investment few companies are willing to make, because there are few potential customers to help recoup costs. Fiber cables buried underground are widely considered the gold-standard method of providing an Internet connection, offering the fastest, most reliable service. But these days, many younger people do most of their Web surfing and Internet connecting through mobile devices, not through a fixed-line connection, and for that stronger cellular infrastructure is needed. Of the bill's $65 billion for broadband, about $2 billion is set aside to finance the construction of “middle mile” networks which could be used to extend a fiber link from a highway out to a cellular tower. Now that the Senate has passed the bill, cellular carriers plan to turn their advocacy efforts to the House with the hope of gaining more funding for mobile connectivity.