Rural Broadband Gap Shrinking

A new report shows high-speed broadband reaching more rural Americans.

Shirley Bloomfield, CEO of NTCA—the Rural Broadband Association, says their 2024 survey found more than 76 percent of customers have access to Gigabit downstream speeds, an increase from 67 percent in 2023.

“These community-based providers are continuing to lead the charge, closing the divide and deploying these robust networks to the communities that they serve. Plus, upload speeds also improved significantly. It’s what allows us to do video conferencing and remote work and online learning and telemedicine.”

Bloomfield says the takeaway is rural Americans on an increasing basis have access to higher broadband speeds and more capacity.

EDITOR’S TAKE:

Very good news for rural America!  The demand for more broadband at higher speeds has existed in rural areas for many, many years. Farmers/ranchers and rural communities have suffered with slow connections since the advent of the internet. And with the ever-increasing technology demands on farms and ranches, with more and more data being generated, a lack of broadband has been a detriment to faster progress. In the past, we reported extensively on this issue. It is pleasing to now relay the news of some positive progress. Speaking of progress – have you connected with farmers/ranchers in your area with AgTruckTrader.com®? Also, have you featured some of our wonderful AgPack® partners in your communication with farmers/ranchers? If not, perhaps the time has come. Need help to make that happen – just contact any member of the Certified Ag Group team!