Rural internet connectivity

This research investigates Internet connectivity in rural regions, looking specifically at four states in the US. Access to the Internet has assumed new significance for commercial and political reasons, and remote and sparsely populated areas typically lack the telecommunications infrastructure for reliable and fast Internet connections. Even as government programs such as the federal E-rate provisions bring Internet connectivity for institutions such as schools and libraries under the government's universal service umbrella, more general Internet access to a broader community constituency has not been addressed within policy circles. Even the deployment of so-called "national" Internet services favors urban regions. Research associates Kyle Nicholas and Lisa Parker were instrumental in undertaking this research, as was financial support from Southwestern Bell and the Rural Policy Institute. The comments of an anonymous reviewer helped greatly. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.