The role of latency in closing the digital divide

Much attention has been focused on closing the "digital divide" when it comes to access to faster broadband speeds. But what about the growing importance of latency as a measure of broadband quality?

At NTCA's RTime conference in Flordia last week, steps to reduce latency in rural areas came front and center during a panel discussion. Brent Lagg, executive director of Connected Nation, says one of the challenge is the lack of internet exchange points across the nation. Currently there are only 57 cities that have internet exchange points, and those are in urban areas. So rural carriers are forced to haul their data over middle mile networks to reach the peering point, increasing lag for their customers. And that adds to the digital divide.

“We can’t have one type of experience in urban areas and a different experience in rural areas” - Brent Lagg, Connected Nation

In addition for the need for more internet exchange points in strategic locations, the panel discucssed the need for more robust middle mile routes to connect to them. For more on the panel discussion, CLICK HERE to read the story at Telecompetitor.