@TechConnectify Shoutout to Biden's Infrastructure Bill, which (among many other things) provided grants and incentives to ISPs to build out broadband access in underserved areas. We live in a semi-rural spot in Arkansas (not farms, but populaton-sparse with big lots) and our options like yours were 12mbps DSL, flaky fixed wi-fi, or cell towers a long ways off. Last year a super-local company came and buried fiber lines _everywhere_ and we pay less now for excellent, reliable Internet - and they claimed some of that grant money as a reward. Would never have happened otherwise.

I think often about how the government mandated telco lines to everyone in the past - "it won't pay back" was simply not an option. We have the ability to do these things right now - it's not hard! it's not complicated! - but what's missing is the people in power to just DO IT.

Naturally, the rural broadband incentive was deliberately ended in 2025.