Rural U.S. and the Use of Broadband

One of the regional newspapers in Ohio wrote on Sunday about the ability of residents to connect to high-speed Internet service. The argument that was presented in a follow-up article was that broadband connectivity was part of the overall business infrastructure planning of rural Ohio. The one point of concern offered in the follow-up article was the recent focus on reducing total debt in the state budget would impact the development of broadband infrastructure within the local community. The point was raised that not having adequate connectivity could result in a lack of vital information is available to local business and services.

Part of the connectivity argument comes from a lack of knowledge on how to use the Internet or even how to turn on a computer, which is one of the critical issues related to the “Digital Divide.” This lack of awareness of how to use the tools of communication could lead to further separation between the urban and the rural within the United States. The question then becomes how do those within the rural part of the United States convince other that this represents a “quality of life issue” as described by Amanda Murphy from ConnectOhio?

The basic of all arguments related to the quality of life is related to fundamental interactions. We use online social networks to reconnect to those we lost touch with, to find new business connections and look up information about the society around us. If we accept the notion that broadband communication “is the glue that brings people, businesses and the information together, allowing them to compete with the rest of the world” as described by Dorothy Skowrunski, the director of the Coshocton Port Authority, then it would seem that the current economic system is based on this glue and broadband service needed for the continued improvement of rural society.

The foundation of this argument could also be framed as the broadband infrastructure acts as the “engine of economic growth.” The rationale for this economic growth comes from the ability of the citizens within the community to display their goods, services, and skills to the connected mass. People use the worldwide market system to help themselves find business opportunities that would not be present in their local communities. The following rationale that is used to support a better broadband infrastructure within the rural U.S. is that it can help with the “Brain Drain” that affect some, if not most, of the smaller towns and cities found in this area. With a connected society, the location of employment is less a by-product of the factory/production center within a given region and more a by-product of where a person can be productive.

The question based on this discussion should be in the current economic state, is there enough of an incentive for government agencies, businesses and non-profit groups to help build up the broadband infrastructure and address some, if not all, of the issues created by the digital divide? If so, how could such as project be coordinated? If not, what could the overall cost be to the rural regions of the United States for inaction in this area?