Report Shows Importance of Cooperatives in Fiber Buildout

The Institute for Local Self Reliance (ILSR) has once again produced an excellent broadband report, this one focusing on the vital role that cooperatives are playing in the deployment of fiber networks.
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The policy brief issued this fall is actually the third update of a report originally issued in 2017. "Cooperative Fiberize Rural America: A Trusted Model for the Internet Era" outlines the efforts of both telecommunications cooperatives and electric cooperatives in bringing fiber to rural areas across the country. As the report states, 72.7% of the fiber service available in rural areas is provided by a cooperative.

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The importance of cooperatives in enhancing rural broadband will only continue to grow. And the fact that cooperatives are building fiber networks means that rural Americans will in many cases have access to better broadband facilities than people living in cities dominated by copper-based cable and telephone companies.

CLICK HERE to visit the ISLR web page that includes a summary of the cooperative report and to download a PDF.