Faster internet is coming, but only for a few

Broadband technologies are getting better and faster — but access to them is still concentrated in metro areas and suburbs, leaving vast swaths of the country with marginal service or nothing at all. Benefits of the broadband advances are mostly going to consumers who already have plenty of options for robust internet connections. Despite efforts to narrow the digital divide, rural areas, small towns and low-income neighborhoods in big cities still struggle to have access to reliable and affordable broadband service. 5G networks using the highest-speed airwaves won't reach rural areas for years because the signals can't travel very far. The bottom line: There's significant overlap between the parts of the country that have been left behind economically over the past decade and those that are broadband deserts.