More rural broadband access needed for social and economic development; new study explains why

Educators, businesses, hospitals, other institutions and residents in rural areas are concerned about the limited availability of advanced telecommunications services, including high-speed Internet services, and a new study explains why and offers recommendations for making broadband more available.

"Proactive policies are needed to facilitate broadband Internet access and adoption in rural areas so that rural hospitals, schools and businesses can drive social and economic development and better position themselves to compete," a group of Penn State researchers and a recently released report, Broadband Internet Use in Rural Pennsylvania, through the Center for Rural Pennsylvania.

"While the report focuses on Pennsylvania, their recommendations hold true for any state with a large rural population, according to the researchers, says Science Daily. The report "examines broadband availability and adoption in four sectors -- health care, local government, education and business -- through case studies, interviews with key information-technology personnel and analysis of organizations' Web sites.

"Broadband services offer a huge opportunity for rural areas with significant payback in terms of economic development and community revitalization,' said co-author Amy Glasmeier, professor of geography and academic partner of the Institute for Rural Journalism and Community Issues. 'The Internet makes possible a whole range of processes which involve more than rapid access to information and which range from joint projects by municipalities and collaborations between schools to development of new business processes.'"

According to Glasmeier and her colleagues, broadband Internet use has increased steadily among rural residents, but is still not widespread in rural areas, and dial-up service often remains the only affordable options in some areas. "While dial-up allows for electronic access to information, its slower speed and lower bandwidth capacity limit organizations from developing Internet-enabled processes and collaborations -- what the researchers distinguish as 'transformative' uses," Science Daily writes.

"For instance, with broadband Internet, rural hospitals could improve patient care by forging networks with urban hospitals to access their expertise and resources. Rural hospitals also could develop interactive processes such as online appointment scheduling, remote patient monitoring through biosignals and image data and videoconferencing between patients and doctors. 'Policy must consider ways to facilitate broadband deployment to do more than the status quo only slightly faster or with less face-to-face contact,' Glasmeier said. But policy makers also need to recognize that there is no single solution to the challenges of broadband utilization. Programs need to be specific to their sectors and linked to the specific challenges facing individual sectors, the researchers assert."

"There is a huge opportunity to facilitate the integration of new technology across a host of sectors" the report states. "Optimization is the watchword; this requires cooperation across groups that currently are only loosely confederated and largely go it alone in service provision... In the optimal situation, government should act as an intermediary and facilitator of broadband use." (Read more)