Thanks to Matt Rezac from Blandin for sending me a recent article from the Daily Yonder (Scholars Stew over Broadband’s Rural Benefit). It’s a summary of sorts of a recent Economic Research Service conference in DC. (I asked before if they would be archiving the conference. Sadly no, but apparently there will be a report.)
According to the article, the big questions were “whether rural areas indeed do lack access to broadband technology and whether high-speed connectivity can appreciably diminish the “rural penalty” – chronic disadvantages in personal income, employment, health care services, and education.” It sounds as if there were some mixed answers.
The article is definitely worth reading but for the time challenged, I’ve condensed it to a simple scorecard.
Not enough broadband in rural areas
Pew – stats show that rural areas are behind urban counterparts for broadband and 24% would get broadband if they could
University of Nebraska – and we’ll feel it in access to online learning
Enough broadband in rural areas
FCC – though those stats are strongly disputed because they are not granular enough
Broadband is great
Brandeis – Internet helps some industries more than others
Broadband isn’t necessarily great
Brookings Institute – little evidence saying broadband creates jobs
University of Chicago – broadband doesn’t help students
Kansas State – broadband doesn’t help diminish rural penalty
Ohio State – people who hadn’t been online had higher hopes for the impact than those who had
OK I took some serious liberties in deference to brevity – but in a nutshell that’s what I read.
I am in western Minnesota working with a number of counties. At a meeting in the lakeside community of Ortonville last night, I was pleased to talk with a wireless ISP that provides countywide coverage of up to 5 Mbps symmetric service for $39 per month.
Ortonville has just received a grant from MN DEED to do commercial rehabilitation of its historic downtown area. While the buildings’ structure and appearance will be improved, economic vitality can only come when the buildings are full of businesses and customers.
The same is true of broadband as an economic development tool. Access is critical though economic vitality comes from use of the technology tools.