For elected officials, supporting a community broadband infrastructure project can be challenging – let alone moving forward to approve such an investment.

The need for better broadband may be clear, particularly in areas where residents, businesses and public institutions struggle with inadequate or unreliable service. These decisions are not limited to rural broadband as communities of every size have areas that are unserved, underserved or overcharged.

When considering investments to improve connectivity, expand competition and ensure their broadband infrastructure can support future needs, elected officials must confront concerns about project costs, competing demands for limited public funds, potential opposition, the possibility of being undercut by incumbent providers and whether government should be involved in an area considered served by the private sector.

To move forward on any community broadband initiative, elected officials and local leaders need clear evidence that the investment is necessary, is supported by the community and is sustainable in delivering measurable community benefits.

This is where community anchor institutions, commonly known as CAIs, become critical. CAIs can include hospitals, schools, colleges, emergency services, electric utilities and other organizations that provide essential community services. Because CAIs deliver services residents rely on every day and are often among a community’s largest broadband users, their support connects the case for public investment to both measurable community benefits and credible demand.

Given that the success of their operations depends on reliable connectivity, they are uniquely positioned to demonstrate both the need for community broadband infrastructure and the community benefits it can deliver.

When CAIs demonstrate a genuine need and can point to tangible benefits for the people they serve, they can provide elected officials with a degree of political cover.

Political cover should not mean avoiding accountability. It means giving elected officials credible, community-based evidence they can use to explain and champion a decision involving public funding, potential competition and project risk. Demonstrating CAI support is in fact critical for a broadband initiative, particularly in areas that remain unserved, underserved or overcharged because there is not enough of a business case for private sector investment.

CAI involvement can strengthen a community broadband investment in several important ways.

CAIs can be drivers of innovation to transform technical capabilities into measurable community benefits

Community broadband infrastructure projects are often presented through specific technical measures such as premises passed and anticipated connection speeds. Those measures are important, but they do not always explain outcomes the investment will enable for the community. Digital platform use cases and driving adoption of online practices are often not easily understood by residents – but are the fundamental reasons for investing in community broadband infrastructure.

A CAI like a hospital has the ability to show how fast, reliable broadband supports telehealth consultations, access to specialists, remote diagnostics and access to patient information systems.

A school district can demonstrate how improved connectivity supports classroom learning, student services, educator training and communication with families.

These examples help shift the public discussion from the cost of building infrastructure to the value that infrastructure can create for residents and the community as a whole.

Providing Elected Officials With the Evidence They Need

When CAIs document their current uses and future needs in terms of digital platforms, use cases, etc., they are able to provide elected officials with the evidence on whether current internet services are adequate or not – and what broadband infrastructure will be needed in the future. The process in itself is important because elected officials can demonstrate that a broadband project has been developed with the community based on documented needs. This is in contrast to traditional private sector broadband investments based on take rate assumptions and minimizing build-out costs to maximize network return on investment.

A hospital administrator can explain and provide evidence how unreliable connectivity has much more of an impact than simply slow internet access. Unreliable broadband can interrupt telehealth consultations, delay the transfer of important and sensitive patient and medical information (including diagnosis and treatment) and make real-time access to medical professionals less dependable.

A school superintendent can provide reports showing how online tests being disrupted, students struggling to embrace and trust virtual learning and staff, students and administrators having limited access to shared support services.

When elected officials have concrete examples of why existing service is insufficient and how improved broadband would change the entire experience of enjoying community benefits – challenging decisions become self-evident next steps.

When multiple community anchor institutions identify similar challenges and a convergence of broadband needs such as a shared lack of physical redundancy, a heavy reliance on a limited number of backhaul paths, etc., elected officials can demonstrate that the project responds to documented community needs rather than an assumed demand that may not materialize.

Community alignment matters when officials are asked why public involvement is necessary or why existing services are not sufficient. They are the most credible and compelling to answer questions about why the government should intervene.

By adopting a master-planned, community broadband infrastructure approach, CAIs can transition from a collection of isolated networks into a resilient, shared regional infrastructure that drives down individual costs through synergy. Analysis of the overlapping needs of these stakeholder groups can also inform the engineering and network architecture decisions. This allows for a “build once, serve many” model: a single new conduit path can simultaneously provide the secondary failover route for the high school, the college campus, the emergency dispatch center, nearby fire or police stations and the hospital’s clinical data feeds.

Such an anchor network can also serve commercial anchors (large businesses) and potentially county / state facilities. Such a design can also serve as the backbone infrastructure to support a fiber-to-the-home deployment by the community or a provider leveraging the community’s infrastructure. Furthermore, by serving as anchor tenants, CAIs provide the guaranteed revenue needed to extend fiber into underserved residential areas.

Reducing real and perceived risk

CAIs are often among a community’s largest broadband users and by pooling their demand for broadband or high-strand-count dark fiber, these institutions can achieve economies of scale. Their participation can strengthen demand projections, identify potential revenues (and cost savings) and improve the feasibility of a project’s financial assumptions.

This does not eliminate risk or guarantee that every CAI will become a customer. It does, however, replace some of the project’s assumptions with evidence.

Strong CAI participation helps answer the central questions facing elected officials: Is the investment needed? Will it create value that is measurable? Does the community support it?

When hospitals, schools, libraries and other community anchor institutions can answer those questions clearly, they give elected officials more than encouragement. They provide the evidence, alignment and political cover needed to move a community broadband investment forward.

On Wednesday, September 9, 2026, the Columbia County Board of Commissioners approved the motion to move forward with the County’s broadband project.

The decision marks an important milestone in years of work to expand access to reliable community broadband infrastructure that can better serve Columbia County’s residents, businesses and community organizations.

The proposed fiber-based network is designed to help reach unserved and underserved areas while creating infrastructure that can support multiple service providers and strengthen opportunities for economic development, education, health care, public safety and other essential community services.

Reaching this point has required more than network planning. Working with Strategic Networks Group, the County has combined broadband planning with community and stakeholder engagement, market demand and data analysis and evaluation of the economic and financial case for investment. This work has also helped assess governance and partnership options and identify how community broadband infrastructure can serve as a platform for economic development, education, health care, public safety and other long-term priorities across Columbia County.

That process helped provide important information and perspectives as the County considered the opportunity in front of it.

Thank you to the County, residents, businesses, community organizations, Broadband Action Team members and other partners who have contributed their time, experience and perspectives throughout this process.

The approval of the broadband project is just the beginning. The next phase will focus on turning the County’s plans and investment into a sustainable network, including implementation, partnerships, budget planning and community and stakeholder engagement. Each will play a role in ensuring the community broadband infrastructure delivers measurable benefits for residents, businesses and community organizations.

This announcement is an important step toward stronger, better-connected communities across Columbia County.

Want to learn more about SNG? We specialize in building sustainable community broadband infrastructure.

Take a look at SNG’s approach from feasibility to planning, investment, implementation and measurable impacts:

How evidence enables municipalities, electric co-ops, utilities and broadband partners to build actionable, more investable broadband strategies.

Broadband planning often starts with a map and financial modeling of costs per passing versus expected revenues. It cannot end there for areas that remain unserved or underserved, or overcharged with broadband that needs to be future-proof.

Comprehensive broadband planning needs to connect user-reported evidence to the services and institutions that communities depend on. Community anchor institutions, such as schools, colleges, healthcare providers, libraries, public safety organizations and local governments, can help define what community broadband infrastructure needs to accomplish and where access and utilization barriers remain.

We need to start by broadening the measures of success of broadband outcomes.

Miles of fiber, premises passed and advertised speeds still matter, but they are not the full measure of broadband value.

Communities receive the full value of broadband when households, businesses, anchor institutions and public services use connectivity to expand access to care, strengthen learning opportunities, support workforce participation, grow local businesses and improve public services.

That value can be seen in community outcomes: students completing homework and online courses, patients accessing telehealth, residents searching and training for work, families managing finances and benefits, entrepreneurs operating home businesses and reaching new customers, residents accessing government services and public-safety information and households using broadband to improve their quality of life and make life easier.

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Build an economic case that includes community value

Where a business case for critical community infrastructure falls short and is not investable by the private sector, we need to look at community investment cases, like when we build roads, electrical grids, etc. For community broadband infrastructure, we need to look at costs against both economic and community benefits and develop public-private partnerships. Such partnerships enable community benefits, which include operating efficiencies for anchor institutions, stronger service delivery, local retention and growth, smart-community applications and broader economic resilience.

That is why building evidence around broadband gaps, barriers and needs must be designed to build an economic case that is investable. SNG’s Broadband eCheckup measures resident experience and demand. Our Digital Needs and Readiness Assessment examines whether people and institutions can adopt and benefit from digital services. GIS and market-demand analysis show where needs are concentrated. Community anchor institution and sector-impact reporting connect broadband to healthcare, education, workforce and economic benefits. Managers and elected officials using these tools get board-ready reporting and a clear path forward with evidence-based decision making.

The question is no longer simply whether broadband matters. The question is whether a community can prove where, why and how broadband investment will deliver value. SNG helps communities do exactly that.

SNG combines resident-level research, market-demand analysis, speed testing, GIS mapping and sector-specific reporting to move broadband conversations from assumptions to evidence.

The objective is not simply to identify where infrastructure may be missing, it is to help local leaders answer a more important question: where, why and how will community broadband infrastructure investment deliver value?

Broadband planning needs to start with what residents are actually experiencing

The Broadband eCheckup documents cost, performance, reliability, satisfaction, service barriers and willingness to change providers. It gives municipalities, electric co-ops and utilities a local evidence base that complements provider filings and coverage maps.

In a recent SNG study in Oregon (conducted with a client who agreed to share selected results), more than 1,100 residents participated in the Broadband eCheckup. That represented a 15.3 per cent participation rate and more than 400 collective hours of engagement. The scale of that response was itself meaningful: residents clearly saw broadband as an issue worth their time.

SNG uses proprietary software tools to help both analyze and display data to clients and end users. Our SNG dashboard (example below) can display information and analysis differently for each of three groups (project partners, project stakeholders and public) – who can then review data online and in real-time, via customized charts and dashboards.

SNG Digital Economy Database Online Dashboard

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Determine whether broadband is a community priority

Local leaders need to know whether broadband concerns are isolated complaints or part of a broader community priority. In the same study, robust and competitive broadband ranked second only to water and sanitation among long-term community priorities. More than 91 per cent of respondents rated broadband as a high or medium priority.

That distinction matters. A project supported by broad community evidence is easier to explain to councils, boards, funding partners and potential network partners than one built mainly on anecdotes.

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Residents ranked robust and competitive broadband among the community’s highest long-term priorities.

Measure satisfaction with speed, affordability and value together

A community can look served on paper while households still face rising costs, uneven reliability and service that does not support modern needs.

To more accurately assess broadband market demand and who is actually unserved or underserved, measure satisfaction with customer service, speed and value. This provides a more complete picture of residents’ actual internet experience. In this case, more than 40 per cent of respondents rated the value of their internet connection as either poor or below expectations.

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Speed test data we collected added another layer. More than 55 per cent of the community was considered underserved on upload speeds below 25 Mbps, while more than 35 per cent was underserved on download speeds below 100 Mbps.

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Speed-test results reveal service limitations that coverage data alone may not show.

From Broadband Gaps to Market Demand

How resident relocation risk and GIS analysis can turn a broadband problem into a clearer market opportunity.

Measure willingness to relocate

Relocation findings can reveal a broader economic issue. In a recent study, 40 per cent of households said they would definitely or very likely relocate based on the availability of internet connectivity, with higher-income households showing particularly strong relocation risk.

When broadband affects where people choose to live, work or operate a business, it becomes an issue of workforce retention, economic competitiveness and community growth, not simply infrastructure.

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Provider switching and relocation findings help quantify market demand and community risk.

Use GIS to show who is affected and where

Community-wide averages can hide important differences. SNG’s GIS analysis turns study findings into geographic evidence, showing where broadband needs intersect with affordability, telework, home business, seniors, students, telehealth users and other priority groups.

This matters because different groups require different responses. A low-income household may need affordability support, equipment and digital navigation. A home business may need stronger reliability and upload capacity. A senior may need both telehealth connectivity and technical support. A family with school-aged children may need dependable service for homework, online learning and school communication.

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GIS analysis can identify where low-income households face broadband and digital-use barriers.

Connect demand to the right intervention

The purpose of SNG’s geographic analysis is not simply to produce a better map. It is to help communities target network design, public engagement, provider partnerships and adoption programs more effectively.

For example, clusters of teleworkers and home businesses can strengthen the case for higher-capacity service and more reliable uploads. Concentrations of affordability barriers may indicate that infrastructure alone will not solve the problem. Areas with school-aged families may require coordination with schools, libraries and other community anchor institutions.

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Telework and home-business analysis shows where high-capacity, reliable service supports local economic activity.

Turn data into a practical market case

SNG brings data on broadband demand, gaps, barriers and opportunities into dashboards and reporting tools that can be customized for councils, boards, partners and funding organizations. The result is a more complete market picture: who needs better service, where they are located, what barriers they face and how likely they are to adopt improved service or switch providers.

Data on broadband demand, gaps, and opportunities helps reduce uncertainty and explains why a broadband problem matters. It can inform service-area priorities, partnership models, outreach plans, adoption strategies and the financial assumptions behind a proposed network.

Assessing current and potential demand enables communities and service providers to better plan for broadband, with a clear understanding of what residents, organizations and businesses are experiencing, what they need, where demand is concentrated, which barriers remain and what outcomes the community expects.

When that evidence guides network design, partnerships and financing, community broadband infrastructure becomes more than a construction project. It becomes a practical, investable strategy that can strengthen service delivery, drive new economic opportunities and better ensure long-term community vitality.

Building this evidence base helps communities more quickly and efficiently develop investable broadband projects.

For many localities across the United States, there is a desperate need for better internet infrastructure, but also the realization that BEAD has fallen short of their needs. “Benefit of the bargain” has removed the areas with the most challenging business cases. These are the areas that need broadband subsidies the most in order to build a case for broadband infrastructure investment. Satellite, although a practical solution for remote areas, is not a substitute for fiber connectivity.

In terms of long-term viability for a locality, broadband gaps can create a perilous situation because the need for high-speed internet continues to grow, as do the demands and opportunities in an increasingly online world. SNG’s recent research has shown that residents value access to robust and competitive broadband almost as much as they value proper community management of water and sanitation.

In addition, Q1 2026 data also shows that users are paying more than ever for high-speed internet service, while not getting the reliability or speed they need.

In today’s economy, small businesses are trying to compete in a world that requires 24/7 connectivity. School students are being assigned homework that requires broadband. Healthcare providers are continuing to advance telehealth, but adoption in many places has flattened because people either don’t trust the connection or simply don’t have the bandwidth at home to use it properly.

The need is real. Everybody can feel it. It’s the world we live in. Broadband is no longer a technology discussion.

It is a healthcare discussion.

It is an education discussion.

It is an economic development discussion.

It is a civic pride discussion.

Most importantly, it is a long-term economic survival discussion.

So what comes next?

For communities left outside of BEAD funding opportunities, waiting is unlikely to be a winning strategy. The communities that ultimately give themselves the best chance to bridge their broadband gaps will be those that continue planning, building partnerships, documenting need, exploring alternative funding and leveraging community infrastructure deployment models.

For more than 20 years, SNG has partnered with localities across North America to help assess broadband needs, engage stakeholders, evaluate opportunities and develop strategies for building a case for investing in broadband infrastructure.

The path to creating community broadband infrastructure can be different for each locality, however the process typically includes local investment, public-private partnerships, community anchor institution-driven demand or wholesale / open-access networks.

None of these steps are easy, but neither is standing still or waiting for the next funding while connectivity needs continue to grow. Leaving broadband gaps and needs unaddressed will grow increasingly costly for the local economy and quality of life.

Building an Economic Case for Community Broadband Infrastructure

To begin, we’ll break down financing because that is the biggest hurdle for community broadband projects. When the business case does not work, broadband will not get financed. Broadband gaps will continue until localities and investors find a viable solution that better aligns community needs with investors’ returns on their investments. The critical first step is to pivot to a broadband infrastructure approach in which the longer-term economic benefits to community growth and business success, which grows the addressable market for service providers and leads to a virtuous cycle that increases network revenue opportunities and returns on investment.

Community initiatives need to take an infrastructure investment approach in order to realize the full economic and community benefits from digital infrastructure over the long term. This can be operationally achieved by partnering with digital infrastructure investors (public and private) in which ownership and operations are structurally separated from retail service delivery. This enables competitive service offerings without becoming a direct competitor to incumbent providers.

Broadband that connects all in a community is digital infrastructure. Like roads and electrical grids, digital infrastructure enables benefits to local economic vitality, competitiveness, resilience and quality of life. However, most of these benefits from digital infrastructure investments do not accrue to private sector internet service providers. This results in underinvestment in broadband as providers only target areas they assess to be profitable.

Broadband infrastructure is more than simply fast broadband access. Community broadband infrastructure connects all anchor institutions, residents and businesses in the community (like roads) so that all can effectively participate in an increasingly online economy, rather than only serving the most profitable areas. Ubiquitous, affordable broadband increases local innovation and grows the local economy, which, in turn, grows the local market for broadband and value-added services. There is an attendant upswing in demand for broadband and the value-added services it delivers. These spillover effects (sustainable local economic growth, enhanced quality of life) are indirect benefits to communities and a primary driver for public investment in infrastructure (roads, water and sewer systems, electric utilities).

Ubiquitous, competitive broadband is a goal that is often best (or only) realized through a model driven by public-private partnership in the investment in broadband infrastructure. This model builds on principles established in the public funding of roads, water and sewer systems, and electric utilities because the indirect benefits to communities are a primary driver for public investment in infrastructure, whereas indirect benefits are off-balance sheet to private investors.

As with roads, or airport authorities, broadband infrastructure is critical to ensuring long-term future economic sustainability and community resilience. Assessing these ‘off-balance sheet’ benefits from digital infrastructure helps localities better understand the scope and scale of necessary investments – and possible partnerships.

Financing Options for Community Broadband Investments

Based on expected ‘off-balance sheet’ community benefits, there are a number of options for localities that include Full Faith and Credit, Revenue Bonds, Operator Investors, USDA loans, co-financing with the local electric utility, zero interest loans, etc. The best fit for the locality needs to take into account the following factors:

Strategic Networks Group, Advancing Economies in a Digital World, our LinkedIn page, will examine some of the opportunities and challenges of each model and why each may or may not be a fit for your community.

Coming next in this series – the Path to building an economic case for Community Broadband Infrastructure.

We’ll explore the practical realities of building an economic case for community broadband infrastructure, including financing options, risk assessment, demand forecasting, community engagement, and strategies for long-term sustainability.

Working with SNG – that’s the kind of diligence and know-how that helps communities take ownership of their digital future.

Ready to see what smart broadband strategy can unlock for your community? Visit SNGroup.com to learn how SNG delivers practical, results-driven broadband solutions.

For a closer look at what that impact looks like on the ground, explore our success stories and see how SNG’s broadband strategy drives local economies forward.

On Wednesday, Feb. 4, Columbia County (Oregon) was approved for $9.5 million in BEAD funding, making it one of only four public entities in Oregon to receive broadband funding. This represents an important step toward closing longstanding service gaps and fostering equitable access to digital infrastructure.

Columbia County took steps to position itself to improve service availability and pursue federal broadband funding opportunities. Their process started by identifying underserved areas and developing a regional broadband plan. Columbia County engaged SNG to support this work, helping to make the economic case for investing in broadband and conducting a comprehensive Broadband Economic Feasibility Assessment.

This detailed assessment demonstrated how a County-owned fiber network could be financed through a combination of residential subscriptions and community anchor institutions (CAIs) connectivity. It also provided crucial evidence that the network could achieve financial sustainability by serving both high-cost rural and commercially viable areas, which is a key component in making the business case for public investment.

SNG values our longstanding partnership with Columbia County and applauds this milestone as part of Oregon’s historic broadband expansion. We stand ready to support the County, and others like Columbia County, as they move forward with the implementation and delivery of broadband solutions that will have immediate and lasting impact on their community.

Ready to see what smart broadband strategy can unlock for your own community? Learn more about digital infrastructure strategy for localities here.

For a closer look at what that impact looks like on the ground, explore our success stories and see how SNG’s broadband strategy drives local economies forward.

Five Years of Partnership. One Principle: Communities Deserve to Secure Their Digital Future. 

Broadband and digital infrastructure decisions are among the most complex choices local governments can face. They touch economic development, education, healthcare, public safety, housing and long-term fiscal sustainability – often all at once. 

For almost five years, SNG has worked with the City of Hermiston (Oregon) on identifying broadband gaps, assessing needs and planning the future of broadband infrastructure because the city understands a fundamental truth: ensuring that broadband infrastructure connects everyone requires consensus, credible data and a long-term view. 

SNG’s role in this process has been to help local leaders, elected officials, staff, anchor institutions and stakeholders build a shared vision about why broadband matters and how communities can move forward responsibly. That includes identifying ways to aggregating existing telecommunications budgets, developing public-private partnerships, and if needed self-funding broadband, rather than trying to create new budget through taxation, applying for grants (none seen forthcoming) or risk defaulting from unsustainable debt. 

Over time, the partnership with SNG has allowed Hermiston to build institutional knowledge, helping them to understanding that it is not just the technology, but the economics, the demand drivers and the community impacts behind these digital infrastructure decisions. 

In the here and now, SNG’s partnership continues to define the path by which the cities of Hermiston and Umatilla can pursue to deliver robust, competitive broadband to all city residents and businesses.  

That’s exactly why the Cities of Hermiston and Umatilla recently launched a Broadband eCheckup, a structured broadband market assessment study collecting granular data about connectivity, usage, gaps and priorities from households, organizations and businesses 

The eCheckup study is part of the ongoing effort by these cities to assess the current and potential demand for broadband, while they work to ensure broadband infrastructure is available for the benefit of all residents and businesses in the community.  

With close to five years of building a trusted working relationship and such an important community decision to make, continuity matters. Digital infrastructure is not a one-cycle or one-term issue. Communities that succeed are those that treat broadband as a long-term asset tied to local priorities, not something that is outside their mandate. 

At its core, this SNG partnership reflects a shared belief: communities cannot afford to expect outside parties to ensure their future. With the right data, planning and guidance, they can take ownership of their digital future – confidently, efficiently and based on their individual needs. 

BEAD funding is intended to provide broadband connectivity to previously underserved locations.

Columbia County, Oregon, has been recommended for $9.5 million in funding through the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) Program, which is particularly significant because Columbia County is one of only four public entities in Oregon to receive such an award. For a county that has long faced challenges in making high-speed broadband available to all businesses and residents, this represents an important step toward closing longstanding service gaps

Preparing for County Broadband Opportunity

Broadband infrastructure gaps have an increasing economic cost. Recognizing the importance of reliable broadband for economic development, education, and healthcare, Columbia County took steps to position itself to improve service availability and pursue federal broadband funding opportunities.

Columbia County started the process by identifying underserved areas and developing a regional broadband plan. Next, Columbia County engaged Strategic Networks Group to support this work, by helping the County make the economic case for broadband and conducting a comprehensive Broadband Economic Feasibility Assessment. This detailed assessment demonstrated how a County-owned fiber network could be financed through a combination of residential subscriptions and community anchor institutions (CAIs) connectivity. It also provided crucial evidence that the network could achieve financial sustainability by serving both high-cost rural and commercially viable areas, which is a key component in making the business case for public investment.

Columbia County also facilitated critical partnerships with local Public Utility Districts, putting together infrastructure agreements that provided in-kind asset valuation to  offset cash contributions needed for BEAD’s 25% matching requirement. Beyond the matching funds, those partnerships enhanced the overall broadband project by demonstrating how utilities could benefit from fiber access for their own operations while supporting expanded connectivity throughout the region. Other project stakeholders included local business organizations, port authority officials, and municipal jurisdictions within the county who participated in a coalition of local partners that support the project and advocate for long-term viability.

In preparation for BEAD, the County established a contracting framework that brought in a qualified operating entity. Through a competitive process, an open access network operator was selected. This partnership was central to the County’s BEAD application, focusing on network sustainability and operational capacity to ensure the project aligned with BEAD funding goals. The network operator, in turn, benefited from the established  County-wide support for the broadband initiative.

Navigating Program Changes and Award Summary

The journey to receiving the BEAD award recognition has not been straightforward. Midway through the BEAD application process, new federal guidance required states to adjust their programs to incorporate what became known as the “Benefit of the Bargain” round. This new phase required states to select the lowest-cost applicants for BEAD-eligible locations, regardless of technology. By adapting quickly and working closely together, the County and network operator were able to keep their application strong and secure awards for the County.

The state of Oregon awarded a total of $620,732,751 to broadband projects through the BEAD program, with only $15,032,943 of awards to public entities (less than 3%). Columbia County received nearly two-thirds of those public entity BEAD award monies across three school districts. The award for Columbia County includes over $9.5 million in broadband funding to bring service to more than 2019 unserved and underserved locations across the Rainier, Scappoose, and Vernonia District Grant areas. These investments will directly benefit households, small businesses, and community anchor institutions that currently lack adequate access to reliable, high-speed internet.

The awards are pending review and final approval by the NTIA, with a decision expected for the beginning of December 2025.

Looking Beyond BEAD

While the BEAD awards are an important milestone, they are not the end goal. Columbia County has faced persistent broadband challenges, with large portions of the county still lacking reliable service. Building on the BEAD-funded projects, the network operator is looking to use this as an opportunity to expand its network and extend service more broadly across Columbia County. By doing so, the County aims to create a sustainable broadband infrastructure that can meet community needs for decades to come.

“What began with a recognition that county residents lacked sufficient broadband access, has grown into a multi-year project to provide a solution, that recently reached a major milestone – our preliminary BEAD award. This effort has required a great deal of problem-solving, multi-agency collaboration, and resilience, but I’m incredibly proud of what we’ve accomplished so far. Reliable broadband unlocks opportunities—remote work, home-based businesses, telehealth, education, and economic growth. I’m committed to bringing these opportunities to every part of our community and thankful for the partnership with SNG, a steady and crucial source of support throughout this journey.”

Holly Miller, Columbia County IT Director

Building a Stronger Future

This award recognition highlights the progress Columbia County is making toward improving broadband access. Reliable internet is increasingly essential for tele-workers, students, businesses, and residents alike. By moving these projects forward, the County is laying the groundwork for stronger communities, new opportunities, and improved quality of life for its residents.

Strategic Networks Group is proud to support Columbia County in reaching this milestone. We look forward to continuing our work as these projects take shape and building towards a more connected future.

Contact SNG to learn more about SNG’s projects and how we help communities achieve their broadband goals.

Camp Sherman, Oregon: A Community in Need of Broadband

Camp Sherman has road and bridge infrastructure. They are working to get digital infrastructure.
Photo: Camp Sherman Bridge across the Metolius River by DBerry

While it may not face the same economic barriers as many other rural areas underserved with broadband – with household incomes approximately 20% higher than the Oregon average – Camp Sherman, Oregon, has broadband gaps and is now stuck in broadband limbo.

Camp Sherman is a small, unincorporated community nestled in the Deschutes National Forest of Central Oregon. The community has clear goals to improve connectivity. Local leaders and residents formed a broadband task force, engaged stakeholders, and launched CampShermanFiber.com to share updates and rally community interest. While these important steps have shown the community has demand and a pressing need for broadband, there has been difficulty in achieving results.

Even though the area was selected as a Federal broadband RDOF grant award recipient in 2020, the project never came to fruition. Like many other communities facing similar hurdles, the program that provided a brief period of hope for residents to get broadband service, ended up as a default on commitments, leaving the goal of achieving high-speed internet back to square one.

Today, Camp Sherman remains unserved by fiber. Residents rely on satellite or fixed wireless connections which have proven inadequate for work-from-home professionals, students, and local small businesses. Additionally, Camp Sherman is under the canopy of conifers, obscuring the sky view of satellites and many residences and businesses simply cannot connect to satellite providers, leaving them with no option at all to connect to the internet.

Camp Sherman also highlights the unique challenges of rural broadband planning:

Camp Sherman shows that even relatively affluent communities, the so-called “haves”, can still lack broadband access and thus ‘have-not’.

When it comes to building digital infrastructure, there is no substitute for working closely with a community to address its specific needs. There is no a one-size-fits-all solution to providing internet service in places that struggle to attract traditional market driven investment.

An individualized case must be developed to show that utilization of broadband from a community’s residents and businesses can support an investment in digital infrastructure. Building an economic case for investing in broadband needs to breakdown traditional silos and bring together many factors including the need to support online services such as telehealth, online education, and public safety communications. In addition, the support of community leaders is paramount to supporting the long-term vision and the benefits that internet connectivity can enable for a community. There are also other considerations such as, an area’s relative vicinity to other regional municipalities, which can increase the scale of broadband planning and develop the market viability to support digital infrastructure investment.

“Black Butte School District has been leading the charge in Camp Sherman towards fiber, for over 10 years. We have experienced one devastating set back after another, leaving us now in a state of limbo. We are wondering if anyone will believe us when we say that satellite and fixed wireless internet do not work under the canopy of pines. Fiber is our only option for our community to enter into the 21st Century. Without it we will simply be limping along patching together solutions that do not actually fix the problem. We live at least an hour away from most doctors, and would love to choose to video conference with them, but with satellite providers, these calls drop, skip, or become garbled. Many people choose not to invest in our community because of our lack of internet, so the long-term sustainability of our community is in the balance.” Jennie Sharp, Special Projects Manager, Black Butte School District 

What Can Communities Do Now?

With delays and uncertainty in government broadband funding (e.g. BEAD and RDOF) , communities need a new strategy—one that’s locally driven, financially sustainable, and less dependent on government subsidies.

Plan for Action, Not Just on Paper

Communities need to go beyond high-level strategies and feasibility studies that are not actionable. They need to produce investment-ready, technically and financially viable broadband plans that align with market opportunities. Broadband planning and technical feasibility assessments need to aggregate demand and build a sustainable business case that will attract internet service providers (ISPs) and infrastructure investors.

Bring Funding Options to the Table

Consider options such as revenue bond financing and public–private joint ventures, which are powerful tools that exist for communities to leverage municipal and stable market conditions in order to help clients structure broadband projects that do not rely solely on slow-moving federal programs. Communities that are ready to take steps to address broadband should determine the best approach that suits their current status and aims (see Options to Bridge Broadband Gaps). 

Engage Local Partners who are Stakeholders

Some of the most valuable partners in the broadband space, are local organizations that are already or could/should be using the internet as a part of their everyday operations. These can include local education and health institutions, as well as non-profit and government organizations that are directly engaged with the local community. Understanding the needs of these organizations can help shape the best approach to solving broadband challenges and improving utilization.

Use Data to Build Support and Reduce Risk

By conducting granular market assessments and financial modeling tools help communities delineate and define underserved areas, quantify demand, and evaluate the economic impacts of broadband investments, communities can provide validation for return on investment that is critical for securing stakeholder buy-in and minimizing risk for investors.

The Bottom Line

We’re in a moment where the broadband future feels uncertain. But that does not mean communities should wait. It means they should act.

Taking action on your broadband future includes:

Contact SNG for more information about how we help communities overcome these challenges, avoid common pitfalls, and deliver results in broadband planning and deployment. Let’s build broadband infrastructure that gets funded, built, and drives community benefits by starting with two questions:

  1. Are your community leaders ready to move forward on a broadband initiative? Use the Digital Needs and Readiness Assessment to find out
  2. To what extent could existing telecommunications budgets finance your digital infrastructure? Take the Broadband Economic Feasibility Assessment

How Jefferson County, Oregon Secured $19M for Broadband — With a Plan Built on Local Insight and Hard Data

In rural communities like Jefferson County, Oregon, broadband isn’t just about speed — it’s about access to opportunity. Whether it’s farming operations relying on remote sensors, local students trying to do homework and access remote learning, or small businesses needing to reach customers online, reliable internet is essential infrastructure.

That’s why in 2021, Jefferson County partnered with Strategic Networks Group (SNG) to take a hard look at their broadband challenges — and opportunities. The result? A detailed, data-driven plan that helped the County successfully secure $19 million in broadband funding from the state’s Broadband Deployment Program.

Understanding Local Needs

SNG started by working closely with County officials, local stakeholders, and tribal representatives to understand the full picture. Broadband gaps in Jefferson County weren’t just about geography — they were tied to how people lived, worked, and accessed services across the region.

Through interviews, planning sessions, and our Digital Needs & Readiness Assessment, we helped surface the community’s broadband priorities:

This kind of listening and understanding local needs was essential — it laid the groundwork for a plan that reflected the realities on the ground and incorporated direct input from local leaders who emphasized the need for equitable access, resilient infrastructure, and long-overdue investment in rural connectivity.

Filling in the Data Gaps

 SNG then got to work collecting the data needed to make the case for investment, including:

One of the most striking findings? Nearly 80% of residents said they’d switch providers if better service were available — clear evidence of unmet demand.

Turning Insight into Strategy

With strong local input and a solid dataset in hand, SNG worked with County leaders to develop a broadband strategy. This wasn’t a generic plan — it was tailored to Jefferson County’s geography, economic goals, and technical realities.

The strategy included:

The goal was to equip the County with a clear, actionable roadmap to guide decisions, attract investment, and take meaningful steps toward a more connected and resilient broadband future.

A Plan that Delivered Results

Following Jefferson County Commissioners’ official adoption of the Broadband Assessment and Strategic Plan, the County had a clear picture of the approach and infrastructure improvements required to achieve results.

Working with SNG to develop a funding application grounded in local priorities and backed by strong data, the County successfully secured nearly $19 million through Oregon’s Broadband Deployment Program. This funding will support the expansion of fiber broadband to over 1,800 unserved and underserved locations, in partnership with a local private internet service provider.

It’s a big win — and one that didn’t happen by accident. It happened because the County had a clear, data-backed plan and could show how investment would translate into real benefits for residents, businesses, and institutions.

What This Means Going Forward

Now, Jefferson County is moving into the build-out phase. But the work doesn’t stop with construction. The County is continuing to draw on the guidance provided in SNG’s strategic plan as it explores ways to support adoption and ensure the network reaches those who need it most — including through digital navigator programs and ongoing coordination with tribal and regional partners.

For more information about this project, visit SNG’s webpage for Jefferson County

More information about the Broadband Deployment Program Oregon Awards