“Without high-speed internet, you cannot be an American citizen.” Joe Costello, CEO of Kwikbit Internet, is clear: to live and survive in the modern United States, you need access to reliable, fast, and affordable internet. However, this is still a challenge in many remote, rural and deprived areas across the United States.
This week’s The Five Nine podcast speaks to Costello, whose company focuses on deploying high-speed internet exclusively to recreational vehicles and mobile homes in trailer parks, an area, according to Costello, which has largely been forgotten by incumbents and smaller ISPs alike. By leveraging fixed wireless technology, Kwikbit offers 1 gigabit internet at $50 per month.
Often an overlooked population, recreational vehicles and mobile homes make up 6.4% of the housing sector in the United States, according to the last census. In states like Arizona, for example, an estimated 10% of residents live in trailer parks. Costello makes the point that it is by focusing on communities like these, often overlooked, that the digital divide will truly be bridged.
Kwikbit believes in the value of FWA to connect these communities, but speaking about the digital divide more broadly, Costello’s message is clear – the industry needs to use the technology that is best for each community and scenario with those stakeholders’ interests at heart, and not the shareholders’. Fiber, inevitably, is getting a lot of the attention and focus of BEAD-backed planned deployments, but he is hoping that states and communities see Kwikbit’s success as a trigger to investigate alternatives in those locations where fiber is not optimal.
Costello sees a difficult road ahead but feels the industry is headed in the right direction. With increased funding and efforts from large and small ISPs, cablecos and CSPs, a significant dent will be made in covering the entire geography of the United States with reliable high-speed broadband.
When asked about his ambitions for Kwikbit and the communities he serves, Costello is not shy about the scale of the challenge. He hopes more companies will focus on recreational vehicles and mobile homes, and join the mission to connect everyone affordably.
Listen to the full interview below!