Broadband access is a key factor for the success of small businesses and economic development
because it is essential for day-to-day operations.
State broadband policies make a diference, a new report says. In particular, residents of states that have their own broadband funding programs did better. And in states that restrict municipal broadband, residents fared worse.
Communities hoping to improve their broadband service have several different models
to choose from. Here’s how to go about making the choice.
It’s true that many rural areas aren’t served with the fastest broadband and the most robust cellular coverage in the U.S. But in the wake of the Cambridge Analytic a scandal in which the data from an estimated 50 million Facebook users were used to craft and inform online political advertising, it’s worth considering whether people in Appalachia are deprived of the benefits of technology – or if they’re protecting themselves from harmful effects of its misuse.
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.
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.
This paper examines the lengthy process the town experienced on its journey to connectivity, and it measures the impact broadband has had on Red Cliff residents.
The objective of this study is to estimate the costs and benefits of rural broadband for the Tipmont Rural Electric Cooperative service territory. It does so by analyzing the “real world” costs of providing broadband service to households in a targeted multi-county area of Indiana, and estimating the benefits that can accrue to these households and the surrounding economy. This analysis can offer a valuable framework for assessing the net benefit of providing broadband services across rural areas of Indiana.
On June 1, 2020, nearly one hundred individuals in locations throughout Missouri and
across the United States gathered “online” to help develop a “Plan” to bring broadband to a
Missouri community — Bollinger County.