Rural Americans need high-speed internet, too

It has been more than 10 years since the collapse of Lehman Brothers, which began a global financial crisis and an economic recession – a period of time that fundamentally changed the American economy. Although the data today shows that the country overall has seen economic improvement, the reality is that rural America hasn’t seen the same benefits as urban areas.

The success of the American economy depends on the success of rural communities, and if unequal economic recovery continues, the American economy won’t be able to reach its full potential.

In a speech during the 2018 Rural Housing Conference, Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell acknowledged the problem and pointed to one major hindrance in rural and tribal communities: a lack of access to high-speed internet. “In an increasingly digital economy lack of access to high-speed internet and the knowledge of how to best make use of it limits the abilities of families and entire communities to reach their full potential,” he said.