South Carolina has reached a milestone no other state has: Residents of rural areas now enjoy faster broadband internet speeds, on average, than those in urban areas of the state, according to a national internet speed-test firm.
It’s a feat that might have been unimaginable only a few years ago and in many parts of our nation, where rural internet infrastructure lags, may still feel light-years away. But it’s the payoff of years of planning and investment by Palmetto State leaders at the federal, state and local levels—and your electric cooperatives.
Internet speed-test firm Ookla recently reported 56.4% of Ookla Speedtest users in rural South Carolina experienced internet download speeds of 100 megabites per second and 20 megabites per second for uploads, the minimum standard set by the Federal Communications Commission, compared to 55.1% of urban users in the state. It is the only state where rural access outperforms urban.
The COVID-19 pandemic fast-tracked broadband expansion across the state, thanks to an influx of federal grant dollars, with significant matching funding from internet service providers. Since 2021, more than $456 million in grant funding has helped construct broadband infrastructure in unserved and underserved locations statewide, according to Jim Stritzinger, director of the South Carolina Broadband Office. It costs between $50,000 and $70,000 to deploy just 1 mile of internet fiber.
The progress of rural internet access also is thanks in no small part to the efforts of South Carolina’s electric cooperatives, many of which provide or partner with telephone cooperatives or private companies to offer internet service in their territories.
Co-ops “have changed the game for their rural communities,” Stritzinger says. “Telephone and electric co-ops working together, especially on the construction side, has been so powerful, effective and inspiring.”
The progress of internet access in South Carolina is astounding, Stritzinger says. In fact, the state far outpaces its Southeast neighbors and most of the nation in closing the digital divide. Strintzinger’s office estimates that within the next five years, less than 2% of the state’s population will lack broadband access that meets national speed standards.
“I can see the end of the digital divide,” Stritzinger says.