The FCC recently released their update to their 2009 Rural Broadband Strategy – Bringing Broadband to Rural America: Update to Report on a Rural Broadband Strategy. There isn’t a lot of “new” information, but rather a concise state of the state of rural broadband. The focus remains on mapping and policy changes to USF, ICC, wireless deployment and removing barriers for potential broadband providers bolstering market driven solutions when possible…

Closing the broadband gap in rural areas and building a world-leading broadband infrastructure requires smart government policies that enable broadband providers to extend and expand broadband availability. These policies must ensure fiscal responsibility and accountability, and should utilize market-driven approaches wherever appropriate. The Commission, NTIA, and the states must further improve data collection and mapping so we know more precisely where resources should be targeted. The Commission must reform and modernize the Universal Service Fund (USF) programs and intercarrier compensation system to ensure that broadband providers have appropriate incentives to deploy and encourage adoption of broadband in rural areas. The Commission also must continue to remove barriers to rural broadband deployment to promote further private and public investment, innovation, and job creation. And the Commission must increase the deployment of wireless infrastructure in rural areas. These actions, many of which are underway, seek to increase the opportunities for rural residential and business consumers so that they can participate fully in today’s global economy.

There were a couple of good charts demonstrating the rural gap…

And a note that not rural areas are created equal…

Even within rural areas, areas that lack access to broadband tend to have a population with less education and lower income levels than rural areas with access to broadband.

The report outlines steps taken to assessment broadband deployment such as the National Broadband Map and the newer SamKnows effort to further map access and performance. It outlines government support such as the big ARRA BIP/BTOP awards, continuing RUS grants and loans. It also outlines efforts to increase deployment, giving a special nod to three larger providers and kind of an implicit nod to local and regional providers who have made an effort…

Broadband providers’ investment in rural areas has been substantial to date, and we note that three large providers of communications services, CenturyLink, Comcast, and Frontier, have committed to expanding their broadband footprints—at least in part to fulfill voluntary commitments to the Commission. Other smaller companies are rolling out state-of-the-art services in rural communities where broadband was previously unavailable.