Broadband internet access is increasingly important part of daily life, but many Americans are still doing without, especially in rural areas. About a third of rural Americans don't have a broadband connection at home, and remain about 12 percentage points less likely than other Americans to have it, according to recent findings from the Pew Research Center.
Access to high-speed internet is too important for so many people to not have it, Lara Fishbane and Adie Tomer write for the Brookings Institution: "If broadband is an essential part of daily American life in the 21st century, how can we be comfortable with the fact that over 19 million households do not have a mobile or in-home subscription? Imagine if an electricity outage like the 2003 Northeast blackout occurred every day. Or if the Flint water crisis impacted the entire states of Michigan, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, and Wisconsin. That’s the scale of broadband disconnect this country experiences."
The U.S. needs to aggressively pursue universal broadband adoption, but some lawmakers and members of the public may be unaware of how much it can help their communities, Fishbane and Tomer write. It's common knowledge that broadband access can enable people to apply for jobs online, but research suggests that even the act of performing online job searches can provide an emotional boost to a discouraged job-seeker.
"In turn, businesses reap benefits from e-recruiting by decreasing labor market search costs and achieving productivity gains through increased efficiencies," Fishbane and Tomer write. "Similar productivity gains can even be passed onto employees through higher wages and to consumers through lower prices. Broadband also helps employees increase their wages by sharpening their online and digital skill sets."
Broadband adoption can also increase civic engagement by making it easier for voters to find information and interact with local representatives. With better broadband connections, voters are more likely to vote and contribute to campaigns, Fishbane and Tomer write.
Access to high-speed internet is too important for so many people to not have it, Lara Fishbane and Adie Tomer write for the Brookings Institution: "If broadband is an essential part of daily American life in the 21st century, how can we be comfortable with the fact that over 19 million households do not have a mobile or in-home subscription? Imagine if an electricity outage like the 2003 Northeast blackout occurred every day. Or if the Flint water crisis impacted the entire states of Michigan, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, and Wisconsin. That’s the scale of broadband disconnect this country experiences."
The U.S. needs to aggressively pursue universal broadband adoption, but some lawmakers and members of the public may be unaware of how much it can help their communities, Fishbane and Tomer write. It's common knowledge that broadband access can enable people to apply for jobs online, but research suggests that even the act of performing online job searches can provide an emotional boost to a discouraged job-seeker.
"In turn, businesses reap benefits from e-recruiting by decreasing labor market search costs and achieving productivity gains through increased efficiencies," Fishbane and Tomer write. "Similar productivity gains can even be passed onto employees through higher wages and to consumers through lower prices. Broadband also helps employees increase their wages by sharpening their online and digital skill sets."
Broadband adoption can also increase civic engagement by making it easier for voters to find information and interact with local representatives. With better broadband connections, voters are more likely to vote and contribute to campaigns, Fishbane and Tomer write.
No comments:
Post a Comment