Compared to other major industrialized countries, the U.S. "enjoys" some of the world's slowest broadband. Even worse, when you factor in price, we pay more and get less than countries like Japan, South Korea, France, Canada, and Sweden. Over the past decade, the U.S. has gone from being the world leader in broadband to 16th in the world.
Communities and regions waiting for the Federal government to solve this problem are going to fall farther and farther behind economically. To be fair, it is important to remember that places like South Korea and Japan are not much bigger than some regional trading areas in the U.S. (that is, 2-4 rural counties in size). Are we really going to settle for an economic development slogan of "Our region...broadband almost as good as some tiny countries from overseas?"
The good news is that the technology and systems needed to take high performance fiber and wireless connections everywhere in a region (every single home and business that wants service) are mature, affordable, and available off the shelf. It is time to just roll up our sleeves and get the job done.