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Federal money available for rural broadband – but is it enough? And, for what?

rural connectivity wire

Tens, or hundreds, of millions of dollars needed to fill gaps

This is the third and final segment in a three-part series on access to high-speed Internet and cell-phone service in rural Montana.

When it comes to financing expanded access to high-speed Internet or cell-phone service in rural Montana, just about everyone agrees it will take some form of public subsidy to reach areas that are not profitable for most telecom providers.

“If you want to make it a market-based solution, my customers’ rates would quadruple,” says Craig Gates, CEO of Havre-based Triangle Communications, which serves about 20,000 customers in rural areas from the Hi-Line to the Wyoming border.

 

By: Mike Dennison

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