Beyond Connectivity: The Role of Broadband in Rural Economic Growth and Resilience

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Estimated reading time: 30+ minutes

Why This Matters for Rural Electric Co-ops

This is peer-reviewed evidence that broadband can transform rural economies, and it gives a board rigorous data to weigh the question of broadband's real-world impact. The Center on Rural Innovation (CORI) compared underserved rural communities with those served by small fiber providers. Rural counties with broadband adoption above 80 percent saw 213 percent higher business growth, 18 percent higher per capita income growth, and 44 percent higher GDP growth than low-adoption areas, while underserved communities lost businesses and experienced population decline. The study looks at small local fiber providers broadly, not electric co-ops specifically. But many of those providers began as telephone or electric cooperatives. The economic findings apply to any co-op building fiber, so the results carry over even though electric co-ops are not the direct subject.

The study's distinctive finding is that building the network is only half the job. The economic gains concentrate where communities can effectively use and leverage the connection, not simply where the network reaches. For a co-op, that means the work does not end at construction. Driving adoption through marketing, affordable pricing, member education, value-added services (managed Wi-Fi, security, technical support), and support for local businesses and institutions is what turns a built network into economic impact. A co-op can use this to make the economic-development case to its board, and as a reminder to budget for adoption, not just the build.

Key Takeaways

Implementation Considerations

• Cost or Funding Requirements: The study measures community economic outcomes, not a project's financial return, so co-ops should pair it with their own feasibility and financing analysis rather than treat it as a business case.
• Staffing or Technology Requirements: The findings reward adoption and value-added services, so a co-op should plan member engagement and digital-adoption support, not just construction. Smaller co-ops may need partners to deliver those programs.

Notable Examples

• Center on Rural Innovation: Conducted the peer-reviewed study finding that high-adoption rural counties far outperform underserved peers on business growth, income, and GDP.
• Paul Bunyan Communications: Minnesota provider, originally a telephone cooperative, whose all-fiber network is featured for driving local business and income growth.

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Estimated reading time: 30+ minutes