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Closing the digital divide: Five things rural carriers can do to accelerate 5G
5G for rural communities has increased in importance during the last six months. The pandemic has shown the severe negative implications of broadband shortcomings in rural areas. The FCC has proposed a $9 billion 5G Fund for Rural America, and the first regional carriers have activated their 5G networks. This article covers five concrete actions regional carriers can take to accelerate the path to 5G in rural communities.
1. Educate your community on the role of broadband for economic prosperity.
Late in 2019, this task was envisioned as significant from both a motivational and an educational perspective for 2020. But the pandemic has put the spotlight on this need like never before. Access to a digital work environment has been vital to telework and remote education. The workforce and students see the direct coupling between access to broadband infrastructure and economic activity.
Expect a significant demand from your community to understand the options for both fixed and mobile broadband services.
• Position 5G, as the 21st-century farm roads, required to connect the rural economy to the economy in urban areas.
• Bring forward the opportunities with remote counseling in healthcare, out of necessity for physical distancing today but also as a long-term reality in rural America.
• Put the spotlight on the education sector, highlighting immediate needs for K-12 and the longer-term potential with remote access to college education from rural communities.
For rural communities to take the path of 5G, they must understand the benefits. Help them understand how these use cases will enable everyone – from their citizens to the community itself – to prosper.
2. Smart citizens enable a clever countryside.
Citizens expect clear answers on what’s in it for them when it comes to 5G. So far, in 2020, we have seen a wide variety of starting points, from strong supporters to activists against the new infrastructure.
Influential local voices in support of 5G have a crucial role to play in informing citizens about 5G and creating trust around the technology well ahead of the deployment cycle.
• Set expectations on what role mobile and fixed wireless access can play and the size of the leap required from the current network and service offerings.
• Paint the potential for different 5G offerings in low-, mid- and high-band spectrum, as this is hard for most consumers to grasp.
• Inform your community about 5G and make it a secure, trusted radio standard.
A well-executed plan in this area generates a community of smart citizens who welcome and demand rapid access to 5G infrastructure. Start by identifying the citizens whom you can collaborate with as influencers to help ensure your 5G messages are well-received.
3. Contribute to firming up data on the real size of your digital divide.
Consensus blocks, the classic model for measurement of broadband availability, have led to an underestimation of the digital divide. The rural broadband opportunity is, therefore, more extensive than reported. The lack of accurate data has introduced challenges for how to allocate the next round of subsidies.
One action you can take is to better estimate gaps within consensus blocks today, as well as better understand the risks associated with closing gaps in broadbandclassified consensus blocks with low penetration. Improving broadband in underserved consensus blocks is a priority of the Rural Digital Opportunity Fund (RDOF).
Establish a refined view of the gaps in your network footprint. Start with five areas of focus where you can close coverage or capacity gaps over the next 12 to 24 months with 5G.
4. Leverage an expanded pool of subsidies.
Closing the digital divide is growing in importance, and five significant initiatives are affecting rural broadband investments:
• The RDOF with $20.4 billion allocated for broadband to unserved and underserved consensus blocks, [1] focusing on fixed wireless broadband access
• The $9 billion 5G Fund for Rural America, focusing on improving mobile broadband in rural areas [2]
• The Secure and Trusted Telecommunications Networks Act for replacement of untrusted vendors in rural broadband networks [3]
• The USDA Broadband ReConnect Program with a $600 million mix of grants and loans to support investments [4]
• The E-Rate program, a $4.15 billion subsidy of broadband services to schools and libraries [5]
This expanded pool of subsidies signals a more substantial societal interest in closing the digital divide faster. Some of the key opportunities to leverage, include:
• The RDOF has two main objectives: $16 billion dedicated to unserved consensus blocks and $4.4 billion for underserved consensus blocks.
• $1 billion of the 5G Fund for Rural America targets hard-to-reach areas such as farms and ranches, supporting the goal of having 95 percent of U.S. farmland covered by 5G in 2025 to enable precision agriculture.
• COVID-19 has put the spotlight on the need to think broader than connected schools when it comes to rural broadband for families with school-age children as school districts have been forced to plan for a more digital reality in 2020-2021.
Evaluate which of the available subsidies you can leverage for a more ambitious network build to meet increased digital demand.
5. Break down a clever countryside vision into an action plan.
Our focus in the last 12 months has been to solidify the visionary foundation for 5G in rural areas. Creating a concrete action plan will help you move your 5G vision to reality. Use these questions for guidance as you plan:
• What key learnings can you leverage from the regional service providers that have already launched 5G?
• What is holding back broadband in your community today? The broadband literacy of your citizens? The cost of broadband services? The required infrastructure investments? Slow subscriber penetration growth? Competition among subscale alternatives?
• What local government and business initiatives represent low-hanging fruit? Gain support from these stakeholders.
• What are the hurdles that represent small-effort and high-impact initiatives that should be prioritized in the next 12 months?
The pandemic has put rural broadband gaps in focus, especially for students and rural citizens who must learn and work from home. Regional carriers have the opportunity to accelerate the closure of the digital divide through a combination of tactical 4G deployments and concrete 5G plans for their communities.
[1] FCC launches $20B Rural Digital Opportunity Fund, February 2020, www.fcc.gov/document/fcc-launches-20-billion-rural-digital-opportunity-fund-0
[2] FCC proposes the 5G Fund for Rural America, April 2020, www.fcc.gov/document/fcc-proposes-5g-fund-rural-america
[3] H.R. 4998 – Secure and Trusted Communications Networks Act of 2019, signed into law in March 2020, www.congress.gov/bill/116th-congress/house-bill/4998/text
[4] U.S. Department of Agriculture, ReConnect Program, 2019, www.rd.usda.gov/files/ReConnect%20Program%20.pdf
[5] FCC: E-Rate: Universal Service Program for Schools and Libraries, 2019, www.fcc.gov/consumers/guides/universal-service-program-schools-and-libraries-e-rate
