Stories

Every day, through our computers and mobile phones, our televisions and smart devices, broadband keeps us connected, working, and entertained. During the COVID-19 crisis, it has been a lifeline, allowing schools to operate, families to keep in touch, businesses to keep selling, and the public to stay informed. It seems virtually impossible to imagine how we would have weathered the pandemic without it. But behind the obvious benefits brought to us by blazing fast internet, broadband provides other fundamental gains – ones that are no less important for being less visible. Thanks to the recently released Investing in America report, let’s take a look at three of broadband’s hidden advantages.

While the COVID pandemic disrupted every facet of our lives, few areas were as affected as education. After the onset of the pandemic, over a hundred thousand schools across the United States were forced to close their doors long term, leaving some 55 million teachers and students scrambling to keep vital lines of communication open. This unprecedented situation threatened to wreak havoc on our education system and cause harm to students who didn’t have an internet connection at home.

Broadband service is a lifeline for social entrepreneur Shel Horowitz, enabling his remote business, opening up cultural and educational opportunities, and connecting him to far-flung family and friends – things that have become even more crucial during the pandemic. We talked with Horowitz to discuss his experience and he outlined four important ways that broadband has empowered different aspects of his life.

Around here we talk a lot about broadband. From its promising uses for distance learning and home offices to gaming and streaming a diverse range of entertainment, broadband has become entwined in all our lives.

The COVID pandemic has been a once-in-a-century health crisis, upending lives and livelihoods worldwide. With the need for safe access to healthcare during the crisis came a renewed focus on an emerging phenomenon: telehealth, or the use of the internet to provide quality care at a distance. According to a new study, the use of telehealth to treat Medicare patients rose some 10,000% in the first six weeks of the pandemic. This exponential rise underscored a fundamental truth: the life-or-death importance of having a reliable broadband connection. Telehealth, then, is the crossroads between innovation and infrastructure. Let’s explore the latest telehealth trends, and how its advanced technology is being supported by a powerful broadband network.

The current pandemic has been a once-in-a-century health crisis, upending lives and livelihoods worldwide. With the need for safe access to healthcare during the crisis came a renewed focus on an emerging phenomenon: telehealth, or the use of the internet to provide quality care at a distance. 

Twenty years ago, the idea that videoconferencing, streaming-on-demand, and mobile phones would become such an integral part of our lives would have been hard to imagine. Today, an internet connection is essential for education, work, communication, and entertainment in ways previous generations would have found hard to imagine. 

Life on a farm conjures up idyllic images of communing with nature, working the land, and getting back to what’s essential. Increasingly, however, a successful farm is dependent on another factor: highspeed internet.