In case you missed it, the National Grange, the nation’s oldest general farm and rural community organization, published a piece in Agri-Pulse on the need to use “the entire toolbox” to expand modern connectivity in rural America.

Grange president Christine Hamp writes: “high-speed internet access is a key that unlocks a wide array of opportunities in critical areas from education to healthcare to precision agricultural practices that directly empower farmers.”

Low Earth orbit (LEO) satellites are a highly promising tool for bringing fast, reliable broadband to farmers and rural Americans who remain unserved or underserved by traditional technologies. Fully incorporating LEO broadband into our nation’s connectivity toolbox will enable big strides toward connecting everyone, everywhere.

Read the full op-ed below and learn more about the Connect Everyone Coalition HERE.

Opinion: We Need The Entire Toolbox To Connect Rural Communities
Agri-Pulse
Christine Hamp
April 24, 2025
https://www.agri-pulse.com/articles/22793-opinion-we-need-the-entire-toolbox-to-connect-rural-communities

Recently, lawmakers on the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Communications and Technology discussed the importance of connecting rural Americans with reliable, high-speed broadband. The committee discussed the role that varied broadband technologies must play in bridging the digital divide, especially regarding rural communities. 

The Grange believes it is a moral imperative to bridge the digital divide and unlock the modern-day health, educational and economic benefits of high-speed broadband for rural Americans. We do not prefer any one connectivity technology over another because we know this will take every tool in our tool belt. That’s why we are excited about technologies such as low Earth orbit (LEO) satellites, which hold huge promise for ensuring that the last mile of country road gets connected. 

Approximately 63 million Americans live in our nation’s rural areas. Since 1867, the Grange has been working to support them, particularly the farmers and farm families that feed our nation. Today, rural America is facing a unique set of pressing challenges. One is a persistent lack of modern connectivity. Even in 2025, many rural areas are still badly underserved or completely unserved by affordable, reliable broadband.

High-speed internet access is a key that unlocks a wide array of opportunities in critical areas from education to healthcare to precision agricultural practices that directly empower farmers. But until rural Americans have broadband access on par with urban and suburban communities, farm country will continue to be left behind.

Traditional broadband offerings like fiber and fixed wireless play an important role in connecting rural Americans, but they sometimes are not the most suitable technology for every community. Fiber can be hindered by mountainous, hilly, rocky, winding terrain. And fixed wireless needs a clear line of sight between the tower and the receiver, leaving service vulnerable to disruption in some areas.

This is where LEO satellites come in. LEO satellites orbit in the closest orbital range to Earth. This makes them easier, faster and cheaper to construct and launch and able to communicate with less delay than older forms of satellite internet. And because there is no in-ground infrastructure required to connect to LEO broadband, it can be rapidly deployed even in the most rural and remote areas without requiring huge investment outlays. This is a game-changing new internet option for rural America.

By offering rural and remote schools and households a quick and easy way to get online at modern speeds, LEO satellite broadband can help level out the unfair playing field in critical areas such as education and healthcare.

In rural Alaska, where school systems have struggled with the high costs and slow speeds of traditional broadband offerings that make testing and online curriculums challenging, LEO broadband has made an enormous difference. Since implementing the technology, schools report download speeds that are “10 times faster, and at a price many times cheaper.”  And in 2024, the FCC found that access to broadband is “a distinct social determinant of health,” helping patients access critical health services including remote monitoring and telehealth services.

Telehealth is now used by 37% of Americans, but as recently as 2023, more than 14% of rural households still lacked the necessary broadband access. LEO satellites will help expand healthcare access in precisely the communities that need it most.

Finally, in addition to the broader benefits for rural communities, expanded broadband will directly strengthen the farm itself. Precision farming and connected agriculture are revolutionizing the way we plant and harvest and raise livestock.

From smarter equipment to improved tracking to better inventory and storage, these advances can save producers time, money and labor, increase yields and protect margins. By reducing waste, these techniques also combat food insecurity and hunger. Unfortunately, 15% of farms across the nation lack any access to broadband.

LEO satellite broadband will provide coverage anywhere it can be connected to power, from different facilities across a farm property to onboard equipment itself. John Deere already has an established strategic partnership with one LEO internet provider to enhance machine-to-machine communication and help equipment owners with self-repair. All in all, estimates show that fully unlocking the advantages of new technologies could generate an additional $47 billion to 65 billion annually just for America’s agricultural sector alone.

The Grange is enthusiastic about LEO satellites’ connectivity potential and encourages the continued incorporation of prioritization of this technology into our nation’s broadband portfolio. By using every tool in our toolbelt, we can expand rural connectivity, strengthen rural communities and support the hardworking men and women who feed our nation.

We urge the connectivity sector, including LEO leaders, and policymakers to work together to deliver the 21st-century connectivity that American farm families and their rural neighbors need.

Christine Hamp is president of the National Grange, the nation’s oldest general farm and rural interest organization.