AAF Finds That Not Just Farms Lack Rural Broadband
Lack of rural broadband access extends beyond communities focused on farming, the American Action Forum reported. AAF found 21 percent of people in rural farming counties lacked broadband, compared with 13 percent in rural counties that claimed recreation a key…
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employer. Regions immediately surrounding "micropolitan" cores are among the most likely to struggle with broadband access, the group said Wednesday. AAF said it was challenged getting data because different groups define broadband differently (see 1707210036). It said recent FCC reports define broadband as fixed terrestrial services 25 Mbps down and 3 Mbps up, excluding satellite that's "advanced in recent years." It said that when satellite is considered, "official statistics jump up," and then just 14 million Americans lack access: "If the FCC were to shift the broadband speed threshold slightly" to 24/2 Mbps up instead of 25/3, "then nearly 1.5 million more people would have access." Some policymakers want minimum performance standards raised (see 1908090012).