For too long, millions of rural Americans have been forced to ride the slow lane of the digital highway. Students in need of an internet connection risk falling behind because they can’t do their schoolwork. Older adults without the option of telehealth must often drive for hours to their doctor’s office. Farmers lack the connectivity that modern agriculture demands.

Now, with the historic BEAD rural broadband deployment program, we finally have the chance to connect every community to scalable, next-generation broadband. 

But here’s the truth: not all broadband is created equal. If we want rural America to compete and thrive in the modern economy, we must invest, wherever possible, in the technology that is built for the future—fiber.

Fiber isn’t just faster internet. It’s economic infrastructure, every bit as essential as roads, rail, and electricity. Fiber-ready rural communities can finally become key players in our nation’s innovation future, hosting the next sites for our nation’s advanced manufacturing facilities and AI data centers. For local governments, that means a stronger tax base. For small towns, it means real jobs and a fighting chance to keep their young people from leaving.

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And fiber delivers those benefits for the long haul. Unlike stop-gap solutions like satellite broadband, fiber networks can easily scale to handle virtually unlimited data growth without expensive overhauls. This is precisely the benefit of the bargain for taxpayers that makes fiber the most cost-effective option available. Every dollar we spend on short-term fixes, whether it’s relying on capacity-constrained satellites or outdated copper, is a dollar we don’t invest in the future-proof networks America’s taxpayers deserve. 

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That’s not to say other technologies don’t have a role. In the most remote locations where fiber simply isn’t an option, satellite can help provide connectivity, and wireless providers are vital partners in extending service. But for many rural communities, fiber is the clear path to reliable, cost-effective and scalable broadband.

That’s why state broadband offices, who know their communities best, are overwhelmingly identifying fiber as the best option for closing the digital divide. They know the difference between a quick fix and a durable solution, and they should be applauded for a fiber-first approach that empowers their communities to grow and thrive and their people to no longer be relegated to the status of second-class digital citizens.

As one citizen from rural southwest Virginia noted in comments to the state broadband office arguing against his county receiving satellite instead of fiber, “As the rest of Virginia gets future proof options, we in Pound once again get left behind and the digital divide will only grow more pronounced [in] the coming years. … You might as well give us a phone line and dial up because in a few years [that’s] what satellite will be like compared to fiber.”

Rural America has waited long enough. BEAD is our once-in-a-generation chance for President Trump and his administration – along with our nation’s governors – to deliver real connectivity.

Fiber is the backbone of America’s future. It’s time to build it.

Jonathan Spalter is president and CEO of USTelecom – The Broadband Association