Updates from the Smart Rural Community Network
Beyond Broadband: How FRS Partners with NTCA Members
In rural communities, connection goes beyond broadband networks; it’s about people: neighbors, friends and a shared commitment to helping communities thrive. That’s where the Foundation for Rural Service (FRS) partners with NTCA members.
Established in 1994 by NTCA as a 501(c)(3) charitable nonprofit, FRS plays a unique role within the telecommunications industry. FRS focuses on educating rural youth, encouraging community development and introducing policymakers to challenges unique to rural communities. FRS activities are made possible by the generosity of NTCA members and friends who make gifts and attend or sponsor events.
What does it mean to be a Smart Rural Community?
Bemidji, Minnesota is a small city surrounded by several hundred miles of farmland and forest. Paul Bunyan Communications has served this area of north-central Minnesota for nearly 70 years, and thanks to PBC's high-speed broadband, health care providers are offering safe, reliable telehealth services in one of the most rural areas of Minnesota.
Sacred Wind Communications began as a way to bring high-speed internet into a community that has historically been considered “too rural” to support. In 2020, Sacred Wind completed a project in partnership with the Navajo Housing Authority to bring fiber-optic cable to Navajo families.
As a Smart Rural Community, Gainesboro, Tenn., served by Twin Lakes Telephone Cooperative, is supporting a nationwide trend of leaving big cities behind for life in the suburbs and beyond.