I watched the “Every Last Mile” documentary about connecting rural America to broadband internet. Those laying the fiber face multitudes of challenges: extreme cold, extreme heat, floods, multiple permitting requirements from local, federal, state, and railroads, untraceable/unknown utility locations that pose safety hazards, sites with fossils or artifacts that need to be documented by archeologists, scorpions and rattlesnakes, trees that must be cut down, unstable topography, and rock — and all these in addition to labor shortages and rising prices that challenge every business.
Those homes or businesses in the most remote locations could benefit greatly (the most?) from reliable internet, allowing them to use it for telehealth, education, employment, and commerce versus doing any of those functions in person, which involves an arduous journey, maybe even via boat or plane. Yet, those sites are obviously the most expensive and least profitable to connect — requiring thousands of dollars to lay miles of fiber between houses (compared to urban areas where one mile of fiber nets dozens of subscribers).
It’s a great illustration of the importance of “starting with why” as Simon Sinek urges. If you are an internet company and your “why” is to earn revenue, the remote sites would be last on the list. If you are the government or a school district and your “why” is wanting to provide access to citizens with the fewest alternatives and the most difficulty conducting business without it, you may begin by connecting the remote sites.
Even when something is difficult, challenges can be overcome if it is important enough. Intentionally define the priority you assign to any project you undertake.
Source: Washington Post Connecting America Series: “Every Last Mile: The Untold Story of Connecting Rural America. www.everylastmile.film
