Bridging the Last Internet Mile in Rural Communities: A Whole Community Approach

Originally aired July 27, 2023

Access to reliable, affordable high-speed internet is essential in today’s digital world — yet many rural communities remain disconnected, limiting economic opportunity, healthcare access, and resilient energy applications. This panel explores the “whole community” approach to solving the last internet mile: coordinating infrastructure needs across stakeholders, optimizing resource allocation, and creating new pathways for economic development and community well-being.

Panelists from Viasat, Microsoft’s Airband Initiative, Connected Nation, and Arizona State University discuss practical strategies for policymakers, community leaders, and citizens working to close the rural connectivity gap.

Speakers

Traci Morris

Executive Director, American Indian Policy Institute, Arizona State University

Traci Morris is Executive Director of the American Indian Policy Institute at Arizona State University, where she focuses on building strong ties to Indigenous urban and rural governments and communities through emerging trends and tribally driven innovative democratic practices, including digital equity and connectivity.

Ryan Palmer

Global Digital Equity Strategist, Microsoft Airband Initiative

Ryan Palmer is a Global Digital Equity Strategist with Microsoft’s Airband Initiative, which brings together a global ecosystem of partners to build infrastructure, deploy solutions, and advocate for the policies and funding needed to help all communities thrive in a connected world.

Mike Lubin

Vice President, Corporate Development, Viasat

Mike Lubin is Vice President of Corporate Development at Viasat, a global communications company whose innovations have shaped how consumers, businesses, governments, and militaries communicate around the world — including in the hardest-to-reach places — for more than 30 years.

Tom Feree

Chairman & CEO, Connected Nation

Tom Feree is Chairman and CEO of Connected Nation, an organization that improves lives by providing innovative solutions that expand access, adoption, and use of broadband and its related technologies to all people — with a particular focus on underserved rural communities.

Andrew Maynard (Moderator)

Professor of Advanced Technologies, School for the Future of Innovation in Society, Arizona State University

Andrew Maynard is a professor at Arizona State University’s School for the Future of Innovation in Society, where he explores the intersection of emerging technologies, society, and risk. He is also an author and public communicator on technology and its implications for communities and the future.