Why is my Internet so Bad
Rural Internet and and cell service is not just bad, poor quality in many areas, it just does not exist. Iowa Governor is talking about faster internet out in rural Iowa. A hog producer from Iowa that I follow on Twitter said what I always say “Internet service would be nice, but first could you get cell phone service that is decent in rural areas? I am not knocking the Iowa Governor she really seems to be interested in improving rural services. For years people have talked up better internet service, but at the same time cell phone service is the same or even worse in many rural areas.
Both cell service and internet is lacking in so many rural areas. I know people in small towns, real small to someone in the big city that have to keep a landline because where they live there is zero, I mean ZERO cell phone service.
If we want young people to live and work in rural America they have to have basic services and cell phone and internet is a basic service. People have talked about this for years and at some point it is either do it or your rural areas will continue to get older and just go away. And, satellite internet is expensive, slow and limited. There is going to be a huge stimulus, infrastructure bill in DC, hopefully someone will go to bat for rural America and get more than a token amount of money for rural cell service and internet. And, cooperatives are not going to be able to do it all since many rural Americans have a copper phone line owned by a major company (think AT&T) running out front. What will it take to get that upgraded to fiber?
Rural America is older and lots poorer than urban America. And the gap is growing. If you are going to buy a house in rural America the old question was “How good is the well?” Now it is “does it have internet service and how is the cell service?”
Lots of people can work remotely, probably one third of the jobs one does not have to go to an office every day. People also like to have their own little piece of paradise in the country but for a young person with a good job to do it remotely they need HIGH speed internet and cell service. Just where we live nine miles from a major interstate and 14 miles from “town” defined as more than 10,000 people we have spotty internet and cell service. I have had to work from home due to COVID issues. Zoom live video is not reliable, only audio. I at times I had to just write comments in the comment section due to if I tried to use audio it was garbled. Many times in the past Judi has had to run to the local public library, once again 14 miles away to do something on the computer.
Now with remote learning, remote work, etc. these issues are not a luxury but a necessity. Many rural customers pay more for less internet, the add on, on the bill is called a”rural connection”. I know it sounds like I am complaining. Yes it is going to cost a lot, but end of the day it is going to be that places in rural America that have little no no cell service or internet will just fade away. Places with access to these services will flourish. In the places that don’t have it, as the available housing get used up, they will de-populate. Maybe that is what the urban elite wants.
The gap in income between rural America and urban America is growing. Not everyone is going to be a 20,000 acre farmer so even farm families need good paying off farm jobs. Rural youth need good paying off farm jobs. I know many in agriculture believe they need cheap labor to survive, but even those workers need cell service and internet at affordable rates. If this does not change areas with no or poor service are going to continue to hollow out. Yes it is going to take money but for the security of your food supply urban America needs to help foot this bill.