Satellites work great as long as the sky is favorable.
I know Trump and Elon Musk are at odds with each other but Starlink would be a significantly better option for rural broadband than any wired connection and much cheaper
Fiber optic is not affected unless the storm takes out the electric.
Which happens.
No system is 100% reliable.
Reliability costs
And when you REALLY want weather data ... the only weather data you get is that the weather is blocking your satellite connection. But as one who lives "out there" ... that's my problem, not the taxpayers'.
> Satellites work great as long as the sky is favorable.<
I’ve had Starlink at our Honduran property for 6 months. We have heavy showers there on a regular basis. Starlink goes from 400+ mbps in clear skies to 190 mbps during heavy rain. I was pleasantly surprised. Only $54 USD monthly.
Conversely, the fiber optic was out at least once per month for $115 USD.
EC