Broadband take rates in rural communities are rising, as small phone companies in rural areas extend connectivity and gradually increase broadband speeds.
According to a survey conducted by the National Telecommunications Cooperative Association (NTCA), rural providers are connecting the vast majority of their customers using DSL, but many have been installing optical fiber and they expect to keep doing so.
The biggest barrier to deploying video services, by far, is securing programming rights, followed by the cost. Getting access to funding is a negligible concern.
Contradicting that, however, NCTC members report that uncertainty about how the national broadband plan is being implemented is a problem. Specifically, concern that potential changes to the existing regulatory framework will take is affecting their decision-making process and impeding their ability to obtain necessary funding for broadband deployment.
NTCA’s “2010 Broadband/Internet Availability Survey Report” found that members’ overall broadband take rate was 55 percent—up from 38 percent last year.
Nearly all (94 percent) of those who offer broadband serve some portion of their customer base via DSL, with 68 percent deploying fiber to the home or fiber to the curb. Despite the inherent challenges and significant costs associated with fiber deployment, particularly in high-cost rural areas, the 2010 survey revealed a 15 percent net increase in deployment (up from 59 percent one year ago).
Seventy-three percent of respondents offer video service to their customers. More than eight in 10 respondents expect to have a video offering in place by year-end 2012. Nearly all (96 percent) indicated that the main barrier to providing video service is access to reasonably priced programming.
“This survey confirms that despite the uncertainty surrounding the FCC’s national broadband plan recommendations, small rural telcos are working hard to deploy broadband services in their communities,” said NTCA CEO Shirley Bloomfield. “Policy-makers must ensure that support for continued deployment is predictable and sustainable if the country is to truly accomplish the goal of universally available broadband.”