Rural Interstate Corridor Communications Study: Report to Congress

NHTSA · 2007 · ROSA P / United States. Dept. of Transportation. Research and Innovative Technology Administration

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Summary

This report, mandated by Section 5507 of the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users (SAFETEA-LU), assesses the feasibility of deploying high-speed telecommunications (HST) infrastructure along rural interstate highway corridors. The study was conducted by the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) in cooperation with the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) and various State Departments of Transportation. The primary objective was to determine if interstate rights-of-way could serve as a backbone for fiber optic or wireless communications, thereby improving broadband access for underserved rural communities and supporting intelligent transportation systems. The research focused on three specific multistate corridors: Interstate 90 (South Dakota, Iowa, Minnesota, Wisconsin), Interstate 20 (Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama), and Interstate 91 (Vermont, New Hampshire, Massachusetts). The methodology involved using Geographic Information Systems (GIS) to analyze demographic, socioeconomic, and infrastructure data within a 25-mile buffer of each highway. The team conducted stakeholder consultations with state and local agencies, reviewed existing telecommunications policies, and assessed the potential benefits of broadband for economic development, public safety, health care, and education. The study was technology-neutral and competitively neutral, examining both public agency initiatives and public-private partnership models. The findings indicate that while some HST infrastructure already exists in these corridors, significant barriers remain. Regulatory and policy differences between adjacent states often hinder multistate cooperation, particularly regarding statutory limitations on government involvement in service provision. Furthermore, private sector interest is limited because sufficient backbone capacity already exists in many areas, and the cost of constructing "middle-mile" and "last-mile" connections to end users remains a challenge. However, the study concludes that the combined benefits to public agencies and local communities could justify additional investment. The presence of HST in rights-of-way would significantly benefit transportation agencies by facilitating real-time traffic management, closed-circuit television monitoring, and Vehicle Infrastructure Integration (VII) technologies. The significance of this study lies in its identification of interstate corridors as a viable, controlled environment for deploying telecommunications backbones that individual private providers might not undertake alone. The report highlights that while private backbone capacity is often adequate, the lack of local distribution infrastructure persists. By developing conceptual designs for deployment along these rights-of-way, the study provides a framework for states to evaluate the applicability and transferability of such projects to other rural corridors. The findings support the potential for multistate coalitions to leverage transportation assets to bridge the digital divide, offering a model for future infrastructure development that integrates transportation and telecommunications goals.

Key finding

Sufficient high-speed telecommunications backbone capacity already exists in or near the study corridors, but regulatory barriers and last-mile connectivity challenges remain significant hurdles to expansion.

Methodology

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Provenance

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• v2x connected vehicle