The push to get broadband out in the countryside continues. Now I hope everyone realizes that there’s probably no place left you can’t get high speed internet if you want it. But the choices certainly are limited in many areas. Right here in Jefferson City, MO, we have only a couple choices. Now the American Farm Bureau Federation is getting in on the act. They know that rural America needs to be AgWired! I’m not sure which PEW Internet study they’re quoting from but it’s one of them. So, basically, they’re urging support for a Senate bill to provide incentives to build more broadband access in rural areas.
Rural Americans lag behind urban and suburban residents in the use and availability of high-speed Internet connections, according to AFBF. Twenty-four percent of rural Americans have high-speed Internet access at home, compared to 39 percent of urban and suburban residents.
“Access to high-speed Internet access is important to rural America. Broadband plays a critical role in health, education and economic development,” AFBF President Bob Stallman said in a letter to U.S. senators.
A 2006 report from the Commerce Department shows that broadband Internet access enhances the economic growth and performance of communities. A three-year study by the department indicates communities with broadband access significantly outpaced communities without broadband access in terms of employment, overall number of businesses and property values.
Farm Bureau is urging support for S. 1190, new legislation sponsored by Sen. Richard Durbin (D-Ill.) that would provide $40 million annually for a competitive, matching grant program to improve access to broadband Internet service. If approved, 80 percent of funding for the program would come from the federal government, with state and private funds supplying the remaining 20 percent.
That lag of 15% they quote here may seem big but keep in mind that the 24% number is significant. You can be sure that when it comes to farmers at high income levels the number is significantly higher.