How to Get Internet Access in Rural Areas 

As per the Federal Communications Commission’s 2020 Broadband Deployment Report, around 32.1% of the people residing in tribal areas of America do not have access to 25 Mbps of internet download speeds. Likewise, approximately 22.3% of the residents of rural areas in the United States cannot avail even 25 Mbps of internet speed.

If you already live or plan to move to a rural, remote, or tribal area, you need to learn how to get internet access THERE. To help you in this regard, this article discusses different internet options available in rural areas along with some tips to access the internet.

Here is our three-step approach to get internet access in rural areas:

Explore Your Choices

Your first step should always be to look at multiple choices available to you and then select the one that best fits your needs. One option is to use a 3G or 4G dongle. All you have to do is connect these devices to your machine, they use your mobile network to provide you internet access. You can easily fulfill your basic internet needs with dongles. The only limitation is that they mostly come with data caps.

Another great option is satellite internet. It delivers good speeds and you can easily access from everywhere above the ground. But, just how every good thing comes with a price tag, satellite is considered the most expensive option in rural areas. Another problem that satellite users face is high latency.

Check Availability and Coverage Options in Your Area

Once you have investigated all the internet services available in your area, take enough time to check other essential factors before subscribing to any internet service provider for your home. After shortlisting the options, always check for their availability and coverage in your area.

If you have to stay only for a few days or weeks in a rural area, then try to find your residence in a place where cellular networks are available. This way you could use dongle easily. On the other hand, if you are permanently moving to a rural area, then one of the best items in terms of coverage and availability is satellite.

Properly Conduct Your Research

Once you start exploring different internet service providers’ plans and packages, you will soon feel lost in all the possible speeds. Almost all ISPs try to offer you the best speeds based on your needs, it is not always possible to achieve that. Google and learn about different internet terms. Some important ones are bandwidth, download speeds, upload speeds, latency, and ping rate.

Available Internet Options in Rural Areas

In its list of total internet service providers available in each country worldwide, the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) ranks the United States in the first position with 7000 ISPs.

However, all these ISPs vary based on availability, speeds, plans, and types of internet offered in different areas. For example, Metronet internet service offers affordable fiber-optic internet plans with unlimited data and no long-term contract plans, but its coverage is restricted to 7 states only.

This makes it essential for you to learn about all internet options available in rural areas. To assist you, here is a variety of different internet services and their availability status in rural areas:

Hot spotting is also a good alternative for low data consumers. Similarly, mobile wireless internet is also a great option as it provides internet through cell phone towers.

Bottom Line

Learning how to get internet access in rural areas is a mystery that have cracked it up for you. We hope after reading this article, you find it simpler and easier than ever before to access the internet in rural areas. Good luck!