Fiber is difficult, expensive, and a good solution—practically unlimited bandwidth. So far, it is not well suited for rural spacing of people groups due to the cost factors.

Fixed Wireless shows in several cutting-edge vendors that in the bands that can provide 10 Mhz or larger channel sizes, sufficient broadband is delivered to each customer comparable to fiber and cable services.

Reliable, usable, unlimited broadband data is what people need. For most users, anything beyond 50 Mbps downloads and 10 Mbps uploads is simply bragging rights for numbers. Everyone needs low latency (a hallmark of Fixed Wireless) and reliable 24×7 broadband delivery.

The Rural spaces, the gaps where small clusters of people live, still need to be included in most tax-supported grant/load programs due to the ill-advised focus requirement of fiber and 100×100 symmetry speeds. These requirements of fiber and 100×100 symmetry cause these low population areas to become the second priority in making the best choices, the importance of choosing who and where to serve with the new money coming in. Discrimination of where you choose to live should not prevent a usable broadband connection from being available in the new era of possible lockdowns and pandemics.

The technical capabilities of Fixed wireless to provide good, reliable broadband are here now. Entire counties can be covered for a fraction of the cost of the expensive fiber grant-designed systems. Fixed Wireless can be deployed in months for a part of a county or about two to three years for a typical county, whereas the fiber deployments will take a decade or more to get the rural low population gaps filled in (if they ever do).

Many are saying good internet is a right. If it is, then the current federal and state focus on fiber only, and 100×100 symmetry is a poor way to offer a natural solution that helps the rural spaces.