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Broadband Internet's Value for Rural America—As broadband—or high-speed—Internet use has spread,
Internet applications requiring high transmission speeds have become
an integral part of the "Information Economy," raising concerns
about those who lack broadband access. This report analyzes (1)
rural broadband use by consumers, the community-at-large, and businesses;
(2) rural broadband availability; and (3) broadband's social and
economic effects on rural areas. It also summarizes results from
an ERS-sponsored workshop on rural broadband use, and other ERS-commissioned
studies.
Rural Broadband At A Glance—Three-quarters
of U.S. residents used the Internet to access information, education,
and services in 2007. Broadband Internet access is becoming essential
for both businesses and households; many compare its evolution
to other technologies now considered common necessities—such
as cars, electricity, televisions, microwave ovens, and cell
phones. Although rural residents enjoy widespread access to
the Internet, they are less likely to have high-speed, or broadband,
Internet access than their urban counterparts.
Age in the Internet Age: Is the Age of the
Farm Operator a Factor in On-line Business Use?—The
likelihood of Internet use in business management is determined
by a number of factors. The impact of a proprietor's age on the
use of the Internet is explored here, finding negative relationship
between age and Internet use though the strength of the relationship
has lessened over time.
Internet
on the Range—The Internet has quickly become a standard
tool used in the workplace and farms have been in the vanguard
in rural America. The most recent data indicates 56 percent
of farm operators used the Internet while 31 percent of rural
workers used it at their place of work.
Determinants
of Internet Use for Rural and Farm Economic Sectors—Demand
for farm and rural Internet use are determined by income, education,
and other factors. The relationships of these factors are explored
here, finding the positive effect of income and education on
Internet adoption.
Rural
America Indicator—Broadband Internet service is catching
on in rural areas, but dial-up is still the most likely method
to access the Internet. Dial-up service is more likely in rural
areas than urban areas.
Communications & the
Internet in Rural America—in Agricultural Outlook,
June-July 2002. Beginning with the telephone, communication and
information service innovations have penetrated rural America in
fits and starts. The marked decline in investment in telecommunications
since the dot-com bust in the late 1990s will slow the diffusion
of Internet and other new services, but demand for these services
is likely to continue growing. The availability of new services
and their affordability will be determined by four factors: public
policy, economic feasibility, technical limits of new technologies,
and market incentives.
Farms, the
Internet, and E-Commerce: Adoption and Implications—Farms
have been in the vanguard of Internet adoption with Internet
use by U.S. farmers growing rapidly, as advances in technology
make the Internet more accessible. Online buying and selling
has become a major farm business.
Telecommunications
in Rural Economic Development: Issues for Latinos and Other Communities—A
debate is taking place in the country about the universal service
provision of modern telecommunications services. The debate revolves
around two questions. First, if many communities, and significant
segments of the population, are not able to participate fully in
the modern Information Age, will it result in their impoverishment?
Second, if there is too great a policy and regulatory intrusion
in the market place, will that cause significant misallocation of
resources, causing the entire society to be impoverished? It is
a debate with a mixture of facts and some conjecture. The purpose
here is to bring forth the basic telecommunication facts, as we
currently know them, relative to rural and Latino communities. This
is an occasional paper at the Julian Samora Research Institute at
Michigan State University.
Rural Telecommunications
in Rural Development Perspectives—Three articles on telecommunications
included as a special issue of Rural Development Perspectives
(October 1999) examine strategic planning for rural telecommunications,
telemedicine in rural communities, and access to telecommunications
by those with disabilities. The articles evolved from a 1998 workshop
organized by ERS and co-sponsored with Tennessee Valley Authority
Rural Studies and the Western Rural Development Center.
- Strategic
Planning for Telecommunications in Rural Communities—Broadband
Internet connections needed to take advantage of opportunities
are not available in many rural communities. To overcome this
disadvantage, some local leaders have been using a strategic planning
process in an attempt to meet top-priority goals and attract new
telecommunications investments. The most effective processes entail
involvement from both the private and public sectors.
- Telecommunications
Access for Rural Americans With Disabilities—Recent telecommunications
policies are faithful to the inclusion of rural people with disabilities.
Policy alone, however, cannot ensure equitable access in rural
areas. Grassroots understanding will help define access in advanced
telecommunications and determine how access can inform development
activities.
Rural Areas in the
New Telecommunications Era—in Rural Development Perspectives
(1997). The Telecommunications Act, enacted in 1996, was the first
comprehensive rewrite of the Communications Act of 1934 that had
ushered in an era of universal phone service for rural areas. The
1996 Act's provisions fall into five major areas: telephone service,
telecommunications equipment manufacturing, cable television, radio
and television broadcasting, and the Internet and online computer
services. All these provisions affect rural areas, but universal
service is the most critical. Without the universal service provision
rural areas may rapidly fall behind urban areas.
Telecommunications in Rural Economic Development: The Promise
for the United States, Western Europe, and Poland—This report is
part of proceedings from "Rural Development in Central and
Eastern Europe," published/sponsored by Slovak National Agricultural
University in 2000. The provision of advanced rural telecommunication
services reduces socioeconomic isolation and potentially primes
new economic opportunities, as well as presents some threats. The
United States and Europe have traditionally dealt with the challenge
of getting advanced telecommunication services into rural areas
in different ways, with the major difference arising from the original
ownership structure of the telephone companies. Poland's rural
areas have both advantages and disadvantages over rural areas in
the United States and Western Europe, not least because only half
of the rural population has a telephone at present. Governmental
policy may be a critical element in enabling infrastructure investment
and encouraging uptake and use of new services. For a copy of this
paper, contact Peter Stenberg.
Telecommunications in Rural Economic Development—Proceedings of
a workshop organized by ERS and co-sponsored with Tennessee Valley
Authority Rural Studies and the Western Rural Development Center
in December 1999. Telecommunications are an essential part of a
modern economy. The provision of advanced telecommunication services
provides: (1) improved access to information and markets for farms,
businesses, individuals, and organizations; (2) better access to
educational, medical, government, and other services; (3) opportunities
for developing new information-rich businesses; and (4) greater
ability to participate in civil and political life. For rural areas
the problem, historically, has been that they have been at the
end of the line in terms of telecommunication infrastructure investment.
The papers in this collection address some of the issues and problems
facing rural regions in the use and adoption of new telecommunication
systems as well as some of the solutions used by rural communities.
For a copy of these proceedings, contact Peter
Stenberg.
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