InterGlobix magazine published anarticle co-authored by McGuireWoods partners Greg Riegle and Jonathan Blank detailing how America’s electrical power infrastructure will help make broadband internet access to rural areas a reality.
In the April 2021 article, titled “Broadband Internet Is the New Electricity,” the authors wrote that the growth of the digital economy has fueled the need for reliable, affordable broadband internet access nationwide and made it a necessity in every aspect of life. They noted that many of the areas lacking access are rural or tribal lands.
Similar to electrifying rural America in the 1930s, the American Jobs Plan committed $100 billion of the $2 trillion spending package to building a more resilient broadband infrastructure in unserved and underserved areas. The quickest, most efficient way to do that, they explained, is to use networks that exist and resources and assets already in place.
“The utilization of existing easements and grid infrastructure is a cost-effective way to shorten the ‘middle mile’ — the last mile of service that will help internet service providers provide less-populated communities with broadband Internet,” the authors said.
McGuireWoods’ data centers team was profiled as part of the 2020 InterGlobix magazine anniversary edition.