Telehealth forever in Montana?

“Telehealth will increase Montanans’ access to care and reduce their health care costs,” Stroyke added in an emailed statement to Montana Free Press. “To ensure it’s available to all Montanans, we must increase access to reliable broadband, particularly for our rural and frontier communities.”

The broadband issue is significant: Montana ranks 50th in the nation for broadband access, according to BroadbandNow, which compiles information on internet service providers for consumers.

FCC awards $126M for Internet in rural Montana – Now what? Questions remain about final product

The six companies will have six years to make high-speed Internet available to about 46,000 unserved locations in Montana. “If I’m a customer, I might be bothered that the company that neglected me for all these years is now going to be the company that’s going to save me.” Geoff Feiss

America Needs More Open-Access, Middle-Mile Broadband Networks – Montana Law Stands In the Way of Progress

“If we build it, will they come?” The report claims the answer is “yes” based on evidence in several states, including Virginia, Nevada, Massachusetts, Illinois and Washington.

States Prioritized Broadband as COVID-19 Took Hold

What good is wider broadband availability if one still can’t afford it?