The economic stimulus package will help bring more broadband Internet access to rural areas, but the idea of universal rural broadband is at least years away, writes one telecommunications columnist. "Out here in the stunningly beautiful but sparsely populated ridges and valleys of southwestern Wisconsin, as for much of the rural United States, the dream of ubiquitous broadband is likely to remain just that -- a dream -- for years to come," David Haskin writes for Computer World.
Haskin terms rural America as "the land that telecommunications forgot," and explains a combination of geography, market forces, the limitations of broadband technologies and sheer bad luck will lead to the continued lack of broadband in many areas. Areas of low population simply don't present enough economic promise for telecom companies looking to expand broadband, Haskin writes."While universal broadband coverage is an admirable goal, it is not a feasible one for the near-term future," Joseph P. Fuhr Jr., a professor of economics at Widener University, told Haskin.
Fuhr cited an Federal Communications Commission study that "calculated that truly universal high-speed access in the U.S. could cost as much as $350 billion, a number that dwarfs the $7.2 billion in the stimulus package," Haskin reports. Rural broadband becomes especially difficult in areas still hoping for any type of reliable Internet. "In our markets, the higher priority is availability, not necessarily speed," Brian Peterson, vice president of engineering at rural telephone provider Frontier Communications, told Haskin. "Our rural market customers are looking for high-speed Internet at 1Mbit/sec. as a necessity and are excited when we can offer 3Mbit/sec." Reads like an interview conducted via e-mail. (Read more)
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