This blog is part of a series highlighting perspectives from NTCA committee chairs who contributed to NTCA's supplemental papers exploring the opportunities and practical applications of AI.
AI is a rapidly evolving technology that has exploded in the last decade. In the past three years, AI chatbots, agents and operational support have gone mainstream. Major players in big tech such as Google, Microsoft, Meta and Amazon have made huge investments in AI. Strategic startups from just a few years ago like OpenAI and Anthropic have grown into multibillion-dollar companies.
Rural broadband providers can play several roles in the AI space. Recognizing the efficiencies AI can provide from common repetitive tasks, financial analysis and customer trends is important as cost pressures continue to be a concern for NTCA members and the customers they serve. AI is a tool, and using the right tool for the right situation requires training and experience. Rural service providers, like many small businesses, may have limited resources. But AI can leverage limited resources and, if used appropriately, turn a negative into a positive, level the playing field and put actionable business intelligence into any company. This is one reason the NTCA Technical Committee developed Leveraging AI in Rural Broadband: Practical Use Cases for ISPs, which highlights four key areas where rural internet service providers (ISPs) can deploy AI tools to drive substantial operational value.
In addition to utilizing AI in business and network operations, many service providers may have the opportunity to support back-end data centers, hyperscalers or remote work that the growth of AI is demanding. Data centers have the potential to transform a community, region or state. As experts in rural broadband delivery, NTCA members can confidently sit at the table and provide guiding insights into how rural America can lead in developing the next generation of global technologies.
Many industry transformations involve risk, disruption and uncertainty. From the Industrial Revolution to the internet boom, rural communities have adapted to technological changes throughout history. AI is an opportunity to live up to the high standards that NTCA members have communicated to business and government leaders. Broadband network providers in rural America have the expertise, capacity and desire to lead the United States in AI infrastructure and connectivity.
I look forward to the opportunities AI brings to innovate processes and entire industries. And I am confident that NTCA members will be positioned to deliver on the exciting promises AI presents now and in the future.