President Obama and others have spoken passionately about the need to extend broadband coverage to rural areas of our country. More than $7 billion was budgeted in the stimulus package to close the "digital divide" and create jobs in rural areas. Cited not only as the link to the larger world, it is considered the foundation for entrance into the global economy. Few would argue with the importance in today's world of internet access.
Two very interesting articles over the last several days have helped explain and further this discussion for me. In The Redwood Times article, the reporter helps us understand what is meant by broadband access and some of the nuances of creating access to rural areas. A front-page article by Cecilia Kang in The Washington Post this morning compares the impact of broadband on two Virginia rural communities--Rose Hill and Lebanon. Both have received broadband access over the last couple of years but only Lebanon has really used it to jump start its economic development efforts. In the case of Rose Hill, internet access has created a small growth in home-based businesses. In Lebanon the story was quite different. Thanks to broadband among other things, Lebanon was able to land two new corporations in town: Northup Grumman and software maker CGI. Around 700 jobs have been created between the two with a starting salary of about $50,000. The important thing to read in the sentence above was not the job creation numbers but "among other things." Lebanon had a better educated workforce, implemented a strong workforce training program, and residents have more of an interest in the possibilities. In Rose Hill only 29% of residents have a high school diploma versus 71 percent in Lebanon and most telling, only one in three residents in Rose Hill even signed up for internet service. So it not just about the access, it is about use and interest. Mark Twain summed it up best:
The man who does not read good books has no advantage over the man who can't read them. The same could be said of broadband usage.
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