Report

Insights 2024: Rural Broadband Business Sustainability

ISPs Make Slow but Steady Progress to Close the Digital Divide

Progress is being made in closing the digital divide. Accelerated by funding from sources such as RDOF and the BEAD program in the U.S., new investments are extending high-speed connectivity to more subscribers in more places than ever. The provider landscape is changing rapidly as well, encompassing a diverse cast of co-ops, utilities, and municipalities alongside traditional internet service providers (ISPs). The access technologies they are using are equally diverse, including FTTH, wireline, fixed wireless, satellite and 5G.

Still, challenges remain, especially in carrier grade networking that is so critical to longer term business sustainability. Download this report, the second in an annual series by Gatepoint Research, which provides insights into the state of rural broadband. Incorporating the results of a broad-ranging survey of senior decision makers at regional ISPs, mobile network companies, FTTH providers and regional telcos, this report examines how far we’ve come and how much further we need to go.

Key findings include:

• Broadband providers deploy multiple technologies to meet urgent demand
• Extending broadband is a priority for rural ISPs in North America and for CSPs worldwide
• Most rural ISPs have no IPv6 transition plan at all
• New entrants such as electrical co-ops, municipalities and tribal communities rise to the challenge