nextgov

The 2020 Census is different from past surveys in two important ways.

Nationwide, rural communities have 37% more residents without access to high-speed internet connections when compared with their urban peers. This becomes a problem as classrooms have become increasingly digital, says Kathryn de Wit, manager of the broadband research initiative at The Pew Charitable Trusts.

For 5G boosters, the benefits of installing the wireless technology are obvious: It allows delivery of super-fast internet speeds. But to hook up the “small cells” that power 5G grids, wireless providers have to install thick wires and poles and antennae on nearly every block they want to cover, outfitted with equipment that is about the size of a large backpack. It’s not just that 5G requires a lot of gear, which alone can provoke the not-in-my-backyard (NIMBY) backlash that puts a stop to all sorts of projects. It’s also that some people really don’t like it when they see it.

The rural broadband fund that Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai proposed on April 12 would rely on funding from an existing broadband program slated to expire in 2020, while also setting higher standards for internet speeds. Around $2 billion has been available annually in recent years through the Connect America Fund and that same amount would be shifted to the new fund -- dubbed the Rural Digital Opportunity Fund --said Mark Wigfield, a spokesman for the FCC. The new program, as envisioned, would differ from the Connect America Fund in some key ways, Wigfield said.