The Bundle Battle: Why Rural Broadband Providers Must Pay Attention to Wireless

Bundling smartphone and home broadband services is a simple idea that’s proving to be a powerful competitive force: People want fewer bills, more savings, and seamless connectivity. These bundles are resonating with customers. And now, the time is coming when rural and regional broadband operators may need to offer something similar.  For a long time, rural broadband providers enjoyed relatively stable market conditions. But those market dynamics are starting to evolve. New technologies and new investment – both public and private – are reshaping what rural connectivity looks like. The $42 billion in Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment (BEAD) funding is about to hit the market, which will bring more competitors who are building new networks in rural areas. National wireless carriers are expanding their 5G networks deeper into smaller towns. And then there are the satellite providers – once seen as too expensive and too unreliable to worry about – now improving and becoming legitimate alternatives in hard-to-reach areas. The big wireless carriers are aggressively pushing their fixed wireless-smartphone bundles, and the results are impressive.