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Broadband Partnerships Key to High-Speed Success in Rural Communities

Rural-Urban Digital Divide Continues Despite Successes So Far in 2018

DENVER, Sept. 19, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Though progress has been made by the Federal Communications Commission to remove barriers for infrastructure investment, the rural-urban digital divide persists.

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A new CoBank Knowledge Exchange Division report, “Broadband Partnerships,” addresses some of the long-standing challenges to building broadband networks such as the high cost to entry, tax and legal implications, and even the lack of investment incentives. The report includes an overview of the current situation, reiterating the need to close the digital divide, and highlights several cases where, through partnerships and differentiated thinking, cooperatives have found success in building broadband in various locations across the country.

“The interviews are wide-ranging case studies that underscore the importance of thinking outside the box to serve rural communities,” said Doran Dennis, regional vice president of electric distribution for CoBank. “The standard model of providing broadband to rural customers is changing daily in order to accomplish the goal of closing the rural-urban divide in America.”

While cooperatives finding new ways to serve customers is a positive sign for the future, other research efforts continue to validate the economic impact broadband access has on rural America.

A known hurdle for broadband projects is that customer-generated revenue may not cover the costs of building an entire network, which has kept many cooperatives from entering the market. However, a new study from Purdue University, referenced in the CoBank report, finds while that may still be the case, there is a net benefit. For example, the net economic impact to society as a whole in Indiana is 4:1 benefit to cost. This further underscores the important role of investment incentives for broadband.

“The trend of broadband access in rural America is going in the right direction,” said Dennis. “As it stands, cooperatives are working through obstacles to build broadband networks, and while they are finding creative solutions, everyone who has a stake in rural broadband can do more.”

The report, “Broadband Partnerships: A Key to High-Speed Success for Rural Electric Co-ops” is available at cobank.com.

*CoBank provided partial funding for the Purdue University study referenced in this release.

About CoBank

CoBank is a $131 billion cooperative bank serving vital industries across rural America. The bank provides loans, leases, export financing and other financial services to agribusinesses and rural power, water and communications providers in all 50 states. The bank also provides wholesale loans and other financial services to affiliated Farm Credit associations serving more than 70,000 farmers, ranchers and other rural borrowers in 23 states around the country.

CoBank is a member of the Farm Credit System, a nationwide network of banks and retail lending associations chartered to support the borrowing needs of U.S. agriculture, rural infrastructure and rural communities. Headquartered outside Denver, Colorado, CoBank serves customers from regional banking centers across the U.S. and also maintains an international representative office in Singapore.

For more information about CoBank, visit the bank's website at cobank.com.

Jacob Morgan
                  CoBank
                  (303) 740-4062
                  jmorgan@cobank.com