Data centers process vast amounts of information every second. Fiber backbones often cut through remote landscapes, carrying traffic for some of the world's largest technology companies. And still, many of the other communities hosting this infrastructure still struggle to access the opportunities it creates.
As CEO and General Manager of Windwave Communications, Blake Lawrence believes this disconnect represents one of the most important challenges in modern broadband development. After years of helping build network infrastructure for hyperscale customers, Lawrence believes rural communities need assistance obtaining a greater share of the value generated around them.
"It's like having an eight-foot water line going through the desert," Lawrence says. "It's passing by these rural places that have been there forever, but they can't even get a cup of water from it."
The analogy he uses captures a reality that exists across much of rural America. There's a rising prevalence of high-capacity fiber networks passing through small towns on their way to major markets, data centers, and cloud facilities in small towns. Those investments, he notes, can create digital capacity, yet local residents may continue relying on aging broadband systems that often do not meet modern demands.
Lawrence has watched this paradox unfold from both sides of it. While he now helps build infrastructure for hyperscale technology companies, he himself grew up in a remote rural community where access to communications was far from guaranteed. He recalls, "We didn't even have a telephone as kids. We used CB radios for communication. I remember the difference it made when the first phone came in; that's when I learned the transformative power of technology."
He sees the role of broadband infrastructure through a similar lens. Much like a telephone service once connected isolated communities to essential resources, Lawrence sees modern fiber networks creating pathways to education, healthcare services, and economic participation.
From his perspective, rural communities required reliable connectivity before cloud computing and artificial intelligence accelerated the demand for digital infrastructure. That's where he believes the larger challenge lies. "The need was always there before there were hyperscalers. You had the communities on one side that needed connectivity, and then you have the hyperscalers on the other side whose vision is global," Lawrence explains.
He believes those global technology companies generally support stronger community connectivity, but their business models are focused on cloud services and computing/data capacity. According to him, creating local broadband access often requires regional providers willing to bridge that gap.
Lawrence points to lessons learned during the COVID-19 pandemic as a powerful illustration of broadband's importance. He recalls how schools frequently served as the primary source of high-capacity internet access in many rural areas. "Once classrooms closed, many students lost their most reliable connection to digital learning resources," Lawrence says.
Access challenges like these highlight why Lawrence views broadband as infrastructure with direct implications for educational outcomes, healthcare delivery, workforce participation, and long-term community competitiveness.
Windwave, a fiber-optic communications company, has spent years positioning itself to help address those issues. According to Lawrence, the company routinely invested in additional conduits and network assets while constructing infrastructure projects for hyperscale customers. Those investments, he adds, created opportunities to extend connectivity into underserved areas over time.
Today, Lawrence notes that Windwave is advancing efforts to expand residential broadband access across Eastern Oregon through projects valued at approximately $30 million, including initiatives tied to state broadband funding programs. Although the company primarily functions as a middle-mile provider serving businesses, schools, and healthcare institutions, Lawrence sees significant potential in leveraging existing infrastructure to support broader community connectivity.
"We can still use this infrastructure to help enable them as well," he says.
Lawrence believes the broader telecommunications industry can learn from this approach. In his view, large-scale infrastructure projects can create opportunities for providers, policymakers, and technology companies to work together with the objective of helping local communities become active participants in the digital economy. In this way, their role can extend from merely hosting the assets that power it.
"I don't think either side's opposed to working together. They just need a little help being brought together," he says.
Public funding initiatives and private investment continue to reshape the nation's connectivity landscape. In that context, Lawrence believes that success should be measured by how effectively those investments improve everyday life in the communities closest to the infrastructure itself.
Rural America, he posits, has played a significant role in supporting the digital economy's growth, and against that momentum, Lawrence believes the next phase of connectivity should ensure those same communities share fully in the opportunities that growth creates.
