The last-mile internet race

If you’ve tried to work through a frozen video call, experienced a stalled telehealth visit or been frustrated by a page that never loads, you know that having internet is not the same as having internet that works to get things done.

That’s why, as the federal government pushes to get more rural communities online, the type of connection homes receive matters just as much as whether they are connected at all.

The BEAD broadband funding program, originally approved in 2021 and currently being used as leverage in the debate over the proposed ban on state AI regulations, is meant to help solve this. Recent rule changes have put more weight on lower-cost bids, giving satellite and fixed wireless providers a stronger chance against fiber in some areas.

Fiber is widely viewed as the strongest long-term broadband option because it can scale to higher speeds over time and support future wireless and advanced services, though it can be expensive to build across long distances. Satellite and fixed wireless, which uses radio signals from stationary transmitters, can be cheaper and faster to deploy, especially in wide-open areas where homes are spread far apart. 

That helps explain why the low-Earth-orbit satellite option, or LEO, can seem appealing when drafting BEAD proposals. In some states, LEO has reached a large share of locations at a fraction of the cost of fiber. For the most remote homes, it may be the most realistic path to connectivity, even if fiber would deliver better service.

There are business stakes behind those choices, too. Being able to list a larger quantity of homes connected looks good on paper as companies like SpaceX and Amazon compete for a larger role in the next phase of LEO satellite infrastructure.

For rural communities, the question is more practical: Will the service they get be reliable, affordable and useful on a daily basis?

Reid Sharkey of the Benton Institute for Broadband and Society, an internet access advocacy nonprofit, said the tradeoff often shortchanges households. Satellite can cost more for consumers, while fiber and some fixed wireless options may offer stronger speeds and reliability. That matters, he said, because affordability remains one of the main reasons people remain offline.

Sharkey pointed to the Great Plains as a useful comparative example. States in the region share several geographic features, but made different choices in their mix of approaches. 

Those choices seem to reflect the specifics of the last-mile problem in each state, such as how far apart the remaining homes are, what the terrain specifically looks like and how costly construction would be.

Much of Kansas is remote but extremely flat, for example, which works with fixed wireless, while South Dakota is more rugged and can’t rely as much on line-of-sight connection. North Dakota already has a good existing fiber network, in part thanks to strong rural cooperatives created during the New Deal. Nebraska has varying topography across some of the least densely populated regions in the country. 

LEO doesn’t just serve internet access. It can also be used for seeing, measuring, tracking and communicating with things across the planet. It’s innovative and useful tech. But if you want to prioritize the consumer, Sharkey said, there are very few situations where it would be the No. 1 choice.

And many communities, he said, had little say in the result. In states like Pennsylvania, Sharkey believes rural residents were “entirely left out of the decision-making process” to decide where the cash goes.

What factors matter most to you when looking for an internet provider? Hit reply and let me know.

🔎 Follow the firearm: New Mexico’s new crime-gun database is already connecting recovered weapons to dozens of shootings — and it’s giving rural agencies access to evidence that once required hours of travel. [Source NM]

🌊 Seasick: Tallahassee researchers developed an AI water-quality model to warn officials of possible E. coli contamination up to a day ahead of traditional lab results, giving them time to act before people get sick. [FSU]

🔋 The electric bill: Jacksonville-based Star Catcher raised $65 million to build a power grid in space, betting satellites will need more power as they take on bigger jobs. [Jacksonville Business Journal 🔒]

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