I remember the moment when I first truly understood that internet access is about so much more than being online.
Early in my telecom career, when we were still figuring out how to deploy reliable wireless in remote areas, I was on site for an installation that changed my perspective forever. An organization that grants wishes to terminally ill children called, hoping we could help with a unique request. They told us that instead of wishing for a toy or a trip, one little girl simply wanted a way to talk to her family members, whom she couldn’t afford to visit.
We installed a reliable internet system, got her connected, and I watched as she spoke to her relatives through a video call. In that instant, thousands of miles collapsed into a moment of connection. It wasn’t about streaming videos or scrolling social media; it was about human connection.
That story has stayed with me. It reminds me that what we do is not about selling data but about enabling life-changing access.
I wanted to recall this story because it puts a face to the challenge faced by thousands of rural families every day. When it comes to healthcare access, many Americans lack not just access to nearby hospitals, but also the broadband connectivity necessary for telehealth services.
This lack of access isn’t just an inconvenience. For some, it’s a matter of life and death.
Why the right connectivity matters for rural healthcare
Connectivity plays a critical role in delivering care beyond hospital walls. Wireless internet can be a bridge to real-time diagnostics and virtual visits.
However, not all wireless internet is equal. For some simple tasks, such as sending basic data from a medical sensor, a low-bandwidth, narrowband IoT solution may suffice. But for anything more demanding, such as a virtual visit or uploading high-resolution medical images, you need something far more powerful.
That’s where Fixed Wireless Access (FWA) comes in. Unlike mobile hotspots or temporary Wi-Fi setups, FWA delivers a high-throughput, reliable, and secure connection designed for consistent healthcare use.
My advice to medical organizations? Partner with providers who understand both the technical aspects of wireless internet access and the human stakes. Your patients can’t afford buffering or dropped signals in the middle of a telehealth session. Choose solutions that are built to handle those needs every single day.
The digital divide is a health equity issue
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) reports that roughly 25% of rural US households lack reliable internet. In total, that percentage equates to approximately 14.5 million people.
Let me be clear: rural broadband access is one of the most urgent equity issues we face today. If you live in a city and need to see a specialist, you can easily schedule a video call or visit an advanced hospital nearby. But if you live in rural America and are low-income, you may not have internet access at all, let alone the ability to access telehealth services.
This is a life-threatening inequity. In a country as wealthy and advanced as the US, no one should be denied access to healthcare because of where they live or because the infrastructure is lacking. Yet for millions, this is their everyday reality.
Equal access to the internet now means equal access to opportunity, education, and crucially, health. It has grown to become more than a luxury. In today’s era, it’s a human right.
How 5G and fixed wireless are changing the game
Fortunately, the future holds incredible promise. Advances in wireless technology, especially FWA powered by 5G and the C-band spectrum, are fast reshaping rural connectivity. This next generation of connectivity provides the bandwidth, low latency, and coverage necessary to deliver full healthcare services wirelessly, without waiting years for fiber optic cables or expensive cell towers to reach remote towns.
Companies are deploying 5G-ready infrastructure that delivers pre-activated modems with embedded security, helping to make reliable internet instantly accessible. Consequently, rural healthcare providers can already tap into connectivity that supports virtual care, remote diagnostics, and mobile health units, enabling them to reach patients right where they live.
Why where you buy your internet matters
Finally, I want readers to understand a key piece of this puzzle: where you buy your internet matters. Many assume the internet is just a commodity where you pick the biggest name brand, and that’s that, but connectivity providers vary enormously in their mission and impact.
When you support mission-driven, regional providers committed to bridging the rural divide, your money goes toward building infrastructure, closing connectivity gaps, and empowering families and communities that would otherwise fall through the cracks. It’s about more than bandwidth. It’s about enabling a child to get diagnosed, a rural student to attend virtual school, or an elderly couple to stay connected with their doctor without a long drive.
Every internet connection carries a story, and every connection we build helps someone live, learn, work, or heal. For my team and me, this mission fuels everything we do. The digital divide isn’t merely a technical problem; it’s a human one that we have the responsibility to solve and the tools to do so.
In doing our part to bridge this divide, we can all help bring healthcare equity to rural America, one connection at a time. And in a country as prosperous as ours, no one should have to wish for access to basic healthcare or the internet that makes it possible. It’s time we bridge that divide together.
Jaden Garza
Jaden Garza is Founder & CEO of Nomad Internet.
