Why We Need A Rural Fiber Fund

[Commentary] When talking about a Full Fiber Nation one counterpoint often made is how expensive rural areas are to wire and therefore how unattractive they are to private deployers. Yet a few weeks ago at the FTTH Conference I met three different fiber operators who all expressed a desire to wire rural America, either to fulfill their sense of civic duty or because they're able to realize high enough takerates to overcome the limited number of customers to make their business model work. Unfortunately, they all cited the same roadblock to their ambitions to wire rural America: the lack of capital available to do so. Now, many of you may be wondering, "But what about the USDA's RUS loan program? Wasn't that designed specifically to help get broadband to rural areas?" On the surface the answer is yes, but once you get into the details you quickly realize when it comes to wiring rural America with fiber, we need a new solution.