Pandemic highlights Montana's digital divide

The COVID-19 pandemic has shined a light on Montana’s widening digital divide. Working from home, online school and telehealth have all become pandemic necessities, but many Montanans don’t have access to adequate broadband internet. Cooperatives across the state said that the digital divide doesn’t exist solely between urban and rural Montana like many people believe. “Yes, there is a digital divide in Montana,” said Jason Williams, CEO of Blackfoot Communications in Missoula. “But it isn’t a single divide between the haves and have-nots.”  Urban areas are typically covered by big players like CenturyLink and Charter, while rural areas are usually covered by cooperatives, such as Blackfoot Communications. “Montana’s cooperatives in the most rural parts of the state probably have the best fiber-based broadband internet in the entire state,” said Williams. There’s another population that some cooperatives argue are the most underserved -- residents in suburban Montana. That includes places like Frenchtown, Lolo and the Bitterroot Valley.