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Just What the Doctor Ordered: Expanded Rural Broadband

A recent story from NPR put a human face on the Federal Communications Commission's rural broadband healthcare initiative and underlines why universal high-speed Internet is an important FCC priority.

Distance remains an enormous barrier to care for millions of people across rural America. Particularly for patients who need specialized attention, long-distance travel to see a doctor means increased cost and inconvenience, often leading to delaying care or foregoing it altogether.

Access to a high-speed Internet connection completely transforms the healthcare equation in rural America and makes it possible to instantly bring a doctor's expertise to patients in far-away locations.

As part of its National Broadband Plan, the FCC has pledged $400 million a year to connect almost 12,000 rural health care providers to broadband.

The FCC's dedication to dramatically increasing rural broadband connectivity will ensure that millions of Americans in rural areas will have access to high-quality and lower-cost care at their fingertips.

Read the Speed Matters Fact Sheet on the benefits of broadband Internet in rural communities and for health care.

Healing Rural Patients With A Does of Broadband (NPR)

Benefits - Rural Communities (Speed Matters)

Benefits - Health Care (Speed Matters)