Internet access and broadband coverage across the country is one of the many great American success stories of the innovation economy. For the last decade broadband service providers have made major investments, typically ranking as the largest capital-expenditure companies in the country year after year. Since 1996 the total investment has neared $2 trillion. That robust private investment has brought great reward. Today more than 94 percent of the U.S. population has access to broadband.
 
Even with that investment, there are still some without access. As George Ford of the Phoenix Center has explained, only about 3 percent of those who lack internet access at home are unserved—the rest simply choose to not purchase it. Most of those without access live in hard to reach areas where there is little to no business case to be made for broadband.
 
A relatively cost-effective way to reach more remote customers with broadband is to attach broadband cables to utility poles. And there are a lot of utility poles, particularly in rural areas.

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