--- description: Many of us take broadband Internet for granted, but nearly 1 in 5 Americans lacks access to it, says the FCC. In rural areas, telecom... title: Why Can’t We All Get Online? image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production --- * [World](/section/world/) ## World Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Why Can't We All Get Online?  by [Alex Fitzpatrick](/author/alex-fitzpatrick/)  ## Alex Fitzpatrick Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jun 30, 2016 12:23 PM CUT  by [Alex Fitzpatrick](/author/alex-fitzpatrick/)  ## Alex Fitzpatrick Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jun 30, 2016 12:23 PM CUT Many of us take broadband Internet for granted, but nearly 1 in 5 Americans lacks access to it, says the FCC. In rural areas, telecom companies balk at the cost of wiring far-flung homes, while low-income families can find the fees prohibitive. Closing the broadband gap is about more than being able to stream Game of Thrones. High-speed Internet is a critical tool of modern life, enabling kids to learn digitally and adults to work via the cloud. The FCC recently approved a small broadband subsidy, but the real solution may lie in increased competition for a notoriously consolidated industry. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4389131/why-cant-we-all-get-online/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4389131/why-cant-we-all-get-online/"},"headline":"Why Can't We All Get Online?","datePublished":"2016-06-30T12:23:00.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T22:57:46.800Z","description":"Many of us take broadband Internet for granted, but nearly 1 in 5 Americans lacks access to it, says the FCC. In rural areas, telecom...","url":"https://time.com/4389131/why-cant-we-all-get-online/","keywords":[],"thumbnailUrl":"","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Alex Fitzpatrick","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/alex-fitzpatrick/"}],"articleSection":"World","image":[],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/world/","name":"World"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4389131/why-cant-we-all-get-online/","name":"Why Can't We All Get Online?"}}]}] ```