Rural broadband still expanding, but more slowly; can be important in taking college-prep courses

The share of rural American homes with high-speed Internet service, or broadband, grew 23 percent in the past year, according to the latest update from the Pew Internet and American Life Project. Overall, broadband adoption grew 17 percent, so rural areas continued to catch up with the rest of the country, but still lag well behind, and the catch-up rate slowed.

The latest survey found that 38 percent of rural households have broadband, up from 31 percent a year ago. But the rate in cities is 57 percent and in suburbs 60 percent. Nationally, 55 percent of households have broadband and 10 percent have dial-up Internet service. The rural share of broadband use is 64 percent of the combined rate for cities and suburbs. Last year, it was 62 percent. In 2005 and 2006, it was 56 percent, so the catch-up rate lagged in the past year.

Broadband remains unavailable to many rural Americans. Among dial-up users, 24 percent in rural areas say broadband is not available; that is much higher than the national figure of 14 percent. Overall, 28 percent of rural adults said that broadband is not available where they live. In other localities, the rate is 22 percent. In some areas, relatively expensive satellite broadband service is all that is available. The survey found that 16 percent of rural broadband users get it via satellite, comparied to 10 percent in cities and suburbs.

Despite the expansion of broadband in rural areas, the "digital divide" seems to be increasing. Broadband adoption among African American and low-income households (defined as less than $20,000) slacked or stalled in the past year, even as more better-off households upgraded their service. Among those with broadband, about a third pay more for even higher speeds. For a PDF of the full report, click here.

Broadband is often cited as an essential element to rural economic development, but it is also important in rural education. Most rural schools have broadband, but students who want to take Advanced Placement courses to win admission to certain colleges -- courses that are not offered in many rural schools -- are often unable to use the school connection to take the courses. Lauren Linn writes for the Daily Yonder:

While online learning may seem like a simple solution to the lack of AP in rural schools, it is not so easy. First, not all students can learn virtually. Virtual learning requires discipline. If students haven’t been challenged prior to jumping into AP, unless there’s an instructor to assist them along the way, the personal responsibility is overwhelming, considering you have to pace yourself and study on your own.

Secondly, one of the greatest obstacles is the lack of broadband Internet connections in many rural areas. Virtual learning includes tutorials, graphics, and documents that take a long time to load without computer broadband. Luckily, my high school had high-speed access, but I was not this fortunate at home. I had to battle with a crawling Internet connection to do large amounts of homework (by senior year, I had “high speed” at home).

Linn, from Clear Fork, W. Va., is now a student at Duke University. For her story about Advanced Placement, click here.

Last week, a new group called InternetforEveryone.org announced its formation and said it would "bring together Internet users, content creators and innovators to make universal, affordable, high-speed access a national priority," K.C. Jones reports for Information Week. "The group -- announced by Free Press and supported by many of that organization's members -- said that high-speed Internet is a necessity, not a luxury, for education, the economy, free speech, and America's ability to lead. " (Read more)