Remote Rural Home Based Businesses and Digital Inequalities: Understanding Needs and Expectations in a Digitally Underserved Community

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The digital economy offers home based micro-businesses in rural areas many advantages but stubborn social,economic and territorial digital divides continue to create challenges for this sector of the rural economy.Complex digital inequalities are illustrated in our case studies of the digital behavior and Internet experiences of those running micro, home based businesses in a remote, digitally underserved rural community before,during and after the deployment of broadband technology. Findings draw attention to the role and importance of fit-for-purpose broadband in promoting digital inclusion for individuals, households and small, home based businesses: in a fast changing digital national and global economy remote rural home based micro-businesses are at risk of being left behind.

Disconnected: Seven Lessons on Fixing the Digital Divide

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Communities across the country are in an economic race. To compete, they need employers and qualified workers, both of which require a robust information- and knowledge-sharing infrastructure. While some communities are ahead of the pack, others are falling far behind.
Broadband is a critical component in this economic race, allowing businesses large and small to reach customers, farmers to deploy resource-saving technologies, and workers to learn critical job skills.

DEEDP Broadband Research

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Beginning in mid-2017, DEEDP endeavored to answer several questions arising surrounding broadband and its impact on rural Missouri. Key questions included broadband’s impact on out-migration and in-migration, the impact of low services, slow speed broadband and relatively high prices compared to areas with fiber’s high-speed broadband and low prices. In the analysis the economic and social impact of high-speed broadband was both qualitatively and quantitatively presented in an easy to understand format designed for policy makers and business executives.

Electric Cooperatives Bring High-Speed Communications to Underserved Areas

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This report is an updated and revised edition of NRECA’s 2019 report, “Electric Cooperatives Bring High-Speed Communications to Underserved Areas.” The original report summarized findings from NRECA’s 2018 series of twelve case studies of electric cooperatives that have entered the broadband communications business. This new version of the report summarizes the original 2018 case studies, with updated information,plus another eight case studies completed by NRECA in 2019.