Nebraska’s rural areas are struggling with a major
shortage of high-speed internet, and people who
live there are likely paying more for service than
their urban counterparts, according to a new
report commissioned by state lawmakers.
The report by the Rural Broadband Task Force
says just 63% of rural Nebraskans have access
to fixed, high-speed broadband service capable
of handling downloads at 25 megabytes per
second or faster. That’s the speed typically
recommended to watch high-definition movies,
use video-chatting services and download large
data files.
Most other rural areas have internet access,
but at much lower speeds and with fewer
providers to compete and drive down prices.