The digital divide has held back the United States for too long. Now is the time to end it.

The first virtual edition of the Fiber Broadband Association’s annual conference, Fiber Connect, held in December, showcased many fiber community success stories and a variety of innovations that promise to expand fiber deployment. The show highlighted how communities are banding together and working with state and federal agencies to build out broadband in underserved communities. It also brought to light the need to increase bandwidth and provide flexible service during the pandemic, along with the problem of permitting obstacles and other challenges.

The new head of the Fiber Broadband Association shares his vision for the industry.

The 2021 broadband plans of incumbent telcos, independents, cable operators and electric co-ops will have a ripple effect on consumers and businesses.

Synergies between the organizations made the choice a natural one.

Broadband should bring people together, not drive them apart.

In its annual conference, which will be held virtually from December 14–16, 2020, the Fiber Broadband Association will bring together experts in all aspects of fiber to the home (FTTH).

This year’s event is our best ever – 30 sessions with more than 100 of the industry’s top experts plus plenty of opportunities to network and engage.

At the Broadband Communities Virtual Summit 2020, participants shared stories about finding new methods to extend broadband into underserved and unserved rural markets. Following are some highlights of conference sessions focused on the rural broadband market.

Electric cooperatives and investor-owned utilities are partnering with competitive providers and telcos to close the systemic rural broadband gap.

The emerging model presents a scalable option for communities that lack the expertise or interest to operate networks or act as ISPs themselves but want to own and control the core communications assets in their communities as a means of securing the benefits of broadband internet. Here’s a look at the model’s business case, technical elements and risks.

A town may not be ready to take the plunge on building a network, but there are steps it can take to attract private investment.

The partnership takes on Germany’s goals to nationally expand gigabit networks by 2025 and to expand fiber infrastructure in schools and local enterprises.

It’s actually cheaper to build in rural than in urban areas, and FTTH systems in rural areas can be profitable even with very few subscribers.

Private construction of multiple-dwelling-unit buildings is hitting a new record this year, with about 525,000 housing starts expected.

For the economy to function at all in 2020, broadband is a must.

The case for private investment in community networks rests on investors’ ability to capture the networks’ impact on economic development.

There’s a new reason to provide more funds for broadband deployments, and a new tool for deployers to target the counties most in need – especially in rural areas.

Universal broadband can power the economy, help the United States weather its current crises, and provide a key to recovery from today’s recession.

To boost the economy, broadband providers and the communities they serve must unite in a vision for a connected future.

New research identifies tactics for connecting unserved communities.

The FCC’s upcoming RDOF auction, scheduled for October, will give rural communities a chance to bid on support for fiber-to-the-home networks.

Communities hoping to improve their broadband service have several different models to choose from. Here’s how to go about making the choice.

By defining goals, gathering data and asking the right questions, communities can develop broadband master plans that lay the groundwork for high-speed networks.

As the community overcomes its business-sector broadband challenges, it looks for ways to extend services to residents who have poor broadband access options.

UTOPIA Fiber is expanding through Utah and beyond, proving that fiber-to-the-home deployments can succeed even in small, rural towns.

Stacking subsidies may be the only way to get fiber to the home built in some of the most rural areas.

There’s more than one way to get better broadband – but how should communities decide what’s best?

The pandemic will have a lasting impact on the way people live and work through technology.

A roundup of recent studies about the growing chasm between broadband haves and have-nots, how to overcome this divide, and the costs and benefits of reducing it

Economic development professionals who completed the Revving the Community Broadband Economic Engine survey weighed in on the current availability, affordability and speed of broadband – and how communities are working to increase all three.

Internet adoption rates among low-income urban populations have climbed in recent years. Joining the online world has changed their lives for the better, say members of this group in a new survey by RVA LLC.

Rural providers are taking aim at rural businesses with fiber and DOCSIS 3.1–based broadband services. But providers must educate this segment about using these new services to become more viable in the online world.

Researchers at an Australian university propose a new way to measure the social benefits of broadband.

To ensure their economic survival, communities must be active participants in broadband planning.

Only fiber to the premises can support the new knowledge economy.

A new type of statistical model helps cities estimate broadband’s effects on their economic well-being.

Highlights of the 2018 Broadband Communities Summit held in May in Austin, Texas

The Broadband Communities Summit brings together participants in the multifamily, rural, economic development, technology and policy worlds. This issue of the magazine has something for all of them.

An innovative program in Pennsylvania leveraged stimulus funds to drive broadband deployment, adoption and use. Small and mid-sized businesses flourished.

New research by Broadband Communities finds a clear relationship between broadband access and median family income but no clear causality.

Broadband continues to be an important economic driver, researchers say – but the story is getting more complicated.

Speakers at the Broadband Communities fall economic development conference discussed how technology disrupts lives – and how it offers lifelines to help individuals and communities cope with that disruption.

Economic development in rural areas depends on broadband access – but the FCC’s current initiatives won’t help.

The FCC stacks the deck against broadband in rural and poor urban districts.

All new multifamily buildings should include fiber. It adds value and ensures residents the fast, reliable broadband they demand.

A dedicated, high-speed broadband network to connect the unconnected is a game changer for Cleveland.

Carriers already share many network assets, but they aren’t always forthcoming about these relationships. Why not accept the inevitable?

Broadband is the underpinning for some of today’s most important transformations in business activity and government services.