Rural Communities Suffer the Most Without Access to the Web

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The Federal Communications Commission estimates 5.74 percent of Michigan's population - 573,426 people - have no broadband providers in their area, and only 62.32 percent have more than one option for high-speed Internet. Those who don't have access to broadband can sometimes opt for other options, such as satellite, a cellular hotspot or dial up, but those are generally slower, face larger data caps and can be affected by weather or other interference more than traditional cable.

The issue also extends to schools. According to a report from Education Superhighway, a nonprofit studying Internet access at schools throughout the country, 157,490 students in 54 school districts in Michigan don't have access to 25 megabits per second of total bandwidth. Nationally, the group estimates 6.5 million students lack that level of broadband access. The disparity of Internet access is perhaps most pronounced in the Upper Peninsula, where a large majority of residents in at least two counties, Luce and Iron, do not have access to a broadband provider at the 25 megabit per second speed tier. Roughly three percent of Michigan's population lives in the Upper Peninsula, spread out across about 29 percent of the state's total land area. Getting communities like Newberry - population 1,452 - the same connection capabilities as Novi - population 59,211 - is a lot tougher. "Broadband is not a luxury - it's a utility that we need to have," said Rep Jack Bergman (R-MI). 


Rural Communities Suffer the Most Without Access to the Web