Until financial incentives emerge to expand broadband internet access to rural communities, far-flung residents will have to go without, said MontanaSky Founder Fred Weber.

Weber delivered the blunt assessment during an Oct. 9 luncheon sponsored by the Libby Chamber of Commerce hosted at the Gracious Table.

Given the scarcity of customers and the prohibitive cost of building infrastructure outside towns, cities and suburbs, Weber said telecommunications companies see no reason to invest in sparsely populated areas.

“It costs money — somebody has to pay for it,” he said. “Until it’s free, somebody is going to need a return on investment.

Laying fiber broadband costs at least $50,000 per mile. The price goes up depending on the terrain, reaching as much as $100,000 a mile. To pay that much for just a few customers per mile does not add up, he said.

And those figures do not include cost of maintenance, workers’ salaries, office space and equipment, Weber said.

One possible solution — outside of private donations or investment — is intervention by the federal government, either through funding or regulations, although Weber did not express much hope at the prospect. State action, though it may lead to Helena running afoul of Washington, D.C., is another possibility, he said.

State officials currently are working with Deloitte and the Montana Telecommunications Association to improve broadband access to Troy.

Statewide, about 97.5 percent urban residents have broadband Internet access compared to 73 percent of those in rural areas, according to a 2019 Federal Communications Commission study. In Lincoln County, just 22.6 percent of residents have broadband Internet access.

“If information is a right, then who pays for that right?” Weber asked.

State Rep. Steve Gunderson (R-1) said lack of broadband is a concern he hears about regularly from constituents. It’s a longstanding problem, he said.

“We have to start thinking outside of the box,” Gunderson said.