Fiber Impact Series
Your Workforce Shouldn’t Have to Leave to Grow.
Fiber-optic internet connects residents to remote jobs, online degrees, and professional training without leaving their community. The result: higher incomes that stay local and a workforce that keeps pace with the economy.
18%
higher per capita income growth in well-connected rural counties, roughly $500 more per person per year.[1]
~17M
school-age children in the U.S. without reliable home internet access, impacting homework completion and digital skills.[1]
70%
of BEAD broadband deployment spending will go toward labor, creating skilled technical jobs in the communities being connected.[2]
Three Workforce Pathways
How fiber builds a stronger local workforce
Fiber doesn’t just bring faster downloads. It opens three distinct pathways for workforce growth, each dependent on the kind of reliable, high-bandwidth connection that only fiber consistently delivers.
Remote work access
Fiber makes it possible for residents to work for employers anywhere. A customer service manager in Rensselaer, a software developer in Monticello, a project coordinator in Howell — each can hold a metro-salary job without relocating, keeping their income and spending in the local economy.
Why fiber specifically?
Remote work requires symmetrical upload and download speeds for video conferencing, screen sharing, VPN access, and cloud file collaboration. Cable and DSL connections typically offer upload speeds that are a fraction of download speeds. Fiber delivers equal speeds in both directions, which is the baseline requirement for reliable remote work.
The income effect
The CORI study found that existing residents are the primary beneficiaries of income growth in well-connected communities — not new arrivals. Per capita income grew 18% in high-adoption counties, translating to roughly $2,000 more per year for a household of four.[1]
Online education and credentials
College degrees, professional certifications, trade credentials, coding bootcamps — all available online, but only if the connection is fast and stable enough to support live video instruction, lab simulations, and timed assessments. Fiber removes the connectivity barrier.
Closing the homework gap
Roughly 17 million K-12 students lack reliable home internet. The FCC has called this the "homework gap" — students who can't complete online assignments, access digital learning tools, or develop the technology skills their future careers will require. Fiber to the home is the most direct fix.[2]
Adult learners too
It's not just students. Working adults pursuing evening degrees, parents building new skills during nap time, displaced workers retraining for new industries — all depend on home internet that can handle live video, downloads, and shared household bandwidth simultaneously.
Broadband deployment jobs
Building fiber networks creates jobs directly in the communities being connected. The Fiber Broadband Association estimates that 70% of deployment spending goes to labor: fiber technicians, splicers, project managers, and support staff.[3]
BEAD is accelerating this
The $42.5 billion federal BEAD program is funding fiber deployment across all 50 states, with peak project activity expected around 2027-2028. That creates a sustained multi-year demand for skilled workers in construction, installation, and network maintenance — many of them in the same rural communities the program targets.
Long-term careers, not temp jobs
Fiber networks require ongoing maintenance, customer installation, and network upgrades. The jobs created by fiber deployment don't disappear when construction ends. They evolve into permanent technical positions that support the network for decades.
The Stakes
What happens when students can’t connect
The “homework gap” isn’t an abstract policy concept. It has measurable effects on student outcomes, and it hits rural and low-income communities hardest.
15%
of U.S. students still lack access to high-speed internet at home, according to Pew Research Center data.[2]
53%
of middle and high school students report slow or inconsistent connectivity as the top barrier to using technology effectively in school.[4]
41%
of low-income households still lack full digital access for distance learning, including both internet and devices.[5]
94%
of low-income school districts assign homework that requires internet access, making connectivity a prerequisite for academic participation.
Why this matters for community leaders: When students can't complete assignments, access digital learning tools, or build technology skills at home, the long-term workforce pipeline suffers. Fiber to the home is the most reliable way to close this gap — it doesn't share bandwidth with neighbors, doesn't slow down at peak hours, and provides the symmetrical speeds that modern educational platforms require.
Case Studies
Communities putting fiber to work
The evidence connecting fiber to workforce outcomes comes from real communities — places that invested in infrastructure and measured what happened next.
Beltrami County, MN
Paul Bunyan Communications
Paul Bunyan Communications invested in an all-fiber network starting in 2004, later rolling out free public Wi-Fi and gigabit-speed service to Bemidji and surrounding areas.
The CORI study included Beltrami County as one of three case studies of high-broadband-adoption rural communities. Between 2010 and 2021, 120 new businesses opened in Bemidji, and the county showed the pattern of income and employment growth consistent with the study's broader findings: 18% higher per capita income growth and 213% higher business growth compared to underserved peers.
Bulloch County, GA
Bulloch Solutions
Bulloch Solutions, a cooperative ISP, became the first 100% fiber provider in Georgia and achieved a 96.5% subscriber penetration rate. The county is home to Georgia Southern University and a growing entrepreneurial ecosystem.
Internship programs run by local organizations and Bulloch Solutions itself contribute directly to workforce development, connecting students to employers through the same fiber network that serves the broader community. The county's economic development has leaned into building a workforce pipeline around its connectivity advantage.
Community Impact
What fiber means for your
workforce and schools
A community with fiber doesn’t just have faster internet. It has a workforce that can access opportunity without having to leave — and a school system that can prepare students for the economy they’re actually entering.
Retain talent and income
When residents can work remotely for companies in Indianapolis, Chicago, or Detroit while living in your community, their salaries flow into local housing, restaurants, and services. Fiber makes your community a viable home base for remote professionals who might otherwise relocate.
Attract employers
Companies evaluating sites for new offices, call centers, or distribution hubs check connectivity first. A fiber-connected community signals reliable infrastructure and a workforce that can use modern tools. It's a prerequisite, not a bonus, for economic development conversations.
Future-proof your schools
Digital learning isn't a pandemic-era experiment. It's how schools operate now. Fiber ensures that students have the bandwidth for live instruction, interactive coursework, and digital assessments at home — not just in the school building where E-Rate funding has already connected most institutions.
Create a pipeline of skilled workers
Fiber deployment itself creates local jobs: technicians, splicers, installers, project managers. But it also enables the online training programs that prepare residents for careers in healthcare, IT, skilled trades, and beyond. The infrastructure builds the workforce that maintains it.
"Broadband infrastructure plays a critical role in economic development, and Surf’s investment in Grant County supports our efforts to connect residents, students, and businesses across the region. We appreciate their commitment to being part of this community for the long haul."
Chuck Binkerd
Executive Director, Economic Growth Council,
Grant County, IN
"Surf has been a consistent presence in our broadband efforts. Their boots-on-the-ground approach, community involvement, and investment in rural Whitley County make them a natural partner in closing our digital divide."
Theresa Baysinger
Commissioner,
Whitley County, IN
"For communities our size, infrastructure like this makes all the difference. Fiber internet keeps us competitive with larger cities, while making sure our residents and businesses don’t have to leave town to find the opportunities they deserve."
Chuck Steele
Mayor,
Momence, IL
"We are excited to welcome Surf Internet to the Sparta community. Having additional reliable, high-speed internet options is a great benefit for both our residents and our businesses. We are pleased to have Surf Internet as a valued member of our business community and wish them much success here in Sparta."
Jim Lower
Village Manager,
Sparta, MI
"Expanding reliable and affordable access to the internet is essential to the citizens of Porter County. Through expansion of their infrastructure and enhancements to their network, Surf has been heavily investing in Porter County."
Jesse Butz
Director, Porter County Public Library System,
Portage, IN
"On behalf of the City of Howell, I’m very happy to welcome Surf Internet to our community. They will expand high-speed fiber internet throughout the county, enhancing our quality of life and helping in our efforts to attract new residents and businesses to the area."
Bob Ellis
Mayor,
Howell, MI
The Fiber Impact Series
Explore the full impact of fiber on communities
Ready to explore what fiber can do
for your community?
Talk with Surf’s community development team about partnership models, deployment timelines, and how fiber infrastructure can support your local economic growth goals.