Over the last decade or so, copious amounts of ink have been spilled and many pixels have been rearranged to explain the vast and growing gulf between America’s slow-growing or declining rural communities and its flourishing cities.

Much of the divide – and it’s become an issue in other developed, prosperous countries, as well – is the result of an economy that has decisively moved from manufacturing and agriculture to knowledge. Cities are where the jobs are if you are young, ambitious and educated, and people migrate to where opportunity is. There has been some speculation that locales outside metropolitan areas might see a rebound with the rise of remote work, but it will obviously take some time to see how and if that unfolds.

What is clear, though, is that rural communities are bound to lag behind if they don’t have access to broadband. Lack of access puts businesses at a pronounced disadvantage, and limits educational opportunities for residents. If you want to stay in the mix in a 21st century economy, having 20th century internet access is not going to cut it.

For that reason, counties throughout the state should pay attention to what Washington and Fayette counties are doing — moving forward with aggressive plans to connect more and more households to high-speed internet. Unveiled recently during the Washington County Chamber of Commerce’s economic development leadership breakfast, the latest phase of Washington County’s broadband initiative would connect 5,000 new customers in communities that are underserved or not served at all.

In fact, since the start of the year, almost $6 million in contracts have been approved by county commissioners to bring broadband to parts of West Finley Township, as well as Bentleyville and Beallsville, Scenery Hill and Glyde. Officials are now looking at connecting southern and western parts of the county, divided into 10 separate projects.

Meanwhile, commissioners in Fayette County approved a $173,000 study in July to bring high-speed internet to underserved parts of the county. Commissioner Vince Vicites noted the urgency of bringing broadband to the area when he remarked that “time is of the essence.”

The region has also had a champion for broadband in Pam Snyder, the Greene County state representative who is stepping down after a decade in the Legislature. In September, she was appointed by Gov. Tom Wolf to lead the Pennsylvania Broadband Development Authority, a newly created agency designed to expand internet access throughout the commonwealth. Snyder will be leading efforts to create a statewide broadband plan, and distributing the $278 million Pennsylvania received from the federal Coronavirus Capital Projects Fund, and $100 million from the Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment Program in the federal infrastructure law.

The Meadowcroft Rockshelter and Historic Village was connected to broadband service earlier this year, and director Dave Scofield said high-speed internet will allow them to offer in-depth online programs and teaching sessions. He recently told the Observer-Reporter, “It’s huge for us. For a long time, we have struggled just being able to perform simple business functions. There really is a variety of things that are going to improve for us because of this project.”

And as broadband reaches more and more residents in the region, things will improve for them, too.