Evaluating the impact of broadband access and internet use in a small underserved rural community

This paper was written by Casey Canfield and her collaborators who are part of the UM System Broadband Initiative.

The highlights include:

• We find the internet intervention was associated with quality-of-life benefits.
• Change in employment, education and health internet use was unrelated to service quality.
• Measurement challenges affect evaluations of interventions in underserved communities.
• Future studies should consider appropriate outcomes, recruitment, and survey timing.