Like rural electrification before it, rural broadband is essential in today’s world. Efforts to ensure all rural communities have accessible, affordable high-speed internet date back many years and continue with urgency today. Our team is following the stories of what’s working to get rural America connected.
Part 2: Hands-On Telehealth Helps Reach Rural Texas Communities
In rural Texas, libraries offer a new access point for telehealth appointments and trusted, in-person support, especially for older people.
More Broadband News
In the Vast Expanses of Indian Country, Broadband Gaps Create Health Gaps, Too
On Idaho’s remote Fort Hall Reservation, thousands live without reliable high-speed internet, which supports health care, education, and daily life. Facing delays and wavering federal policy, Frances Goli is determined to spend more than $22 million in federal grant money before she runs out of time.
Fewer Households, Businesses Will Get High-Speed Internet Under Revamped Federal Plan
Trump has scaled back a Biden-era program that aimed to close the digital divide.
Rural Communities Lose Out With Shelving of Digital Equity Act
Trump announced end to funding aimed at bridging digital divides in May, months after recipients learned they’d get it.
Trump Team’s Reworking Delays Billions in Broadband Build-Out
A Trump administration reworking of a $42 billion broadband expansion program will trigger delays as millions of rural Americans wait for promised connections and the telehealth services they bring.
Flawed Federal Programs Maroon Rural Americans in Telehealth Blackouts
Taxpayers — through federal infrastructure programs — have paid billions of dollars to internet companies to hook up rural Americans. Some communities have nothing to show for it, leaving medically vulnerable rural patients disconnected and without access to telehealth.
Rural Hospitals and Patients Are Disconnected From Modern Care
Technological gaps handicap rural hospitals as billions in federal funding to modernize infrastructure lags. The reliance on outdated technology and piecemeal systems challenge staffs and erode patient care.
Stay connected on rural broadband.
More to Broadband News to Explore
Microsoft Provides Cybersecurity Program for Rural Hospitals
Potential cyberattacks threaten all healthcare systems, but for rural hospitals, a massive cybersecurity breach could prove financially devastating.
Commerce Secretary’s Proposal to Prioritize Satellite Over Fiber Internet Would ‘Strand’ Rural Communities, Experts Say
Howard Lutnick’s proposal to change BEAD structure will line the pockets of billionaires and leave rural communities behind.
Where Do Broadband Deserts Overlap with Healthcare Provider Shortages?
Almost 2 million rural Americans live in counties without reliable broadband or sufficient access to healthcare providers, according to a Daily Yonder analysis of KFF Health News data.
White House Recognizes Rural Innovators for Their Community-Focused Work
Marking one year since the start of the “Investing in Rural America” event series, the White House gathered some of the most accomplished rural practitioners to celebrate their work.
Does AI Change How We Talk About Rural?
Google’s AI Overview feature lacks reliability. What does it say about rural America?
Report: Broadband Can Transform a Rural Community
New research shows a more than 200% growth rate for businesses in rural areas with high broadband utilization rates.
Communities Struggle to Get Connected, Despite Billions in Broadband Investment
The library closed hours ago, but the Dwengers’ internet is down again. They and other rural residents struggle to get broadband access.
Expert: Rural Hospitals Are Particularly Vulnerable to Increasing Cyberattacks Targeting Healthcare Facilities
Hackers increasingly exploit rural hospitals’ lapses in cybersecurity. But new initiatives from tech giants aim to combat cyber disruptions across rural America’s healthcare landscape.
Texas Nonprofit Works With Volunteer GIS Expert to Map Broadband Need
Maps show where the highest need for broadband is located in rural Bastrop County, Texas, leading to broadband for a community of 700.
With Funding for ACP Up, Supporters Push for New Money, Better Access for Low-Income Families
The Affordable Connectivity Program ran out of money at the end of May, 2024. With no funding bill in place, millions of users will lose their subsidies for broadband Internet.
Affordable Broadband Program Sputters to a Halt, Ending Free Internet for 3.2 Million Rural Households
The Affordable Connectivity Program, an initiative that helped pay for broadband access for more than 23 million lower-income households, is out of money. The White House would like to tell you whom it blames.
The Pandemic Fueled Gains in Digital Equity. But for Native Tribes, It’s Complicated.
Despite a broader stream of federal funding for broadband access unlocked over the course of pandemic, many sovereign tribes still struggle with the lack of trust, infrastructure and labyrinthine government bureaucracy.
Rural Students’ Access to Wi-Fi is in Jeopardy as Pandemic-Era Resources Recede
The approaching end of the Affordable Connectivity Program spells trouble for rural students with inadequate internet access.
Millions May Lose Internet Benefits If Lawmakers Don’t Act
The Affordable Connectivity Program provided up to $30 discounts on internet service for low-income households.
Oklahoma State University Program to Boost Online Retail Opportunities in Rural Areas
The Small Business Administration is funding the Oklahoma Rural E-Commerce Academy, which will focus on training and technical assistance for rural entrepreneurs.
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