“That’s the main problem today in rural America: getting high-speed Internet access,” rural resident Alicia Stahl told the Washington Post for an article about the thousands of people missing out on the broadband revolution just an hour from DC. It’s a story that could be told in hundreds of locations across the U.S. as commercial telephone and cable operators focus on more lucrative dense areas at the expense of their country cousins; more than 90 percent of rural U.S. homes lack broadband access. The Post looks at efforts underway in the DC area; for instance, the Southern Maryland Electric Cooperative will be trialing power-line high-speed delivery. But efforts like that in various states may be doomed by legislation designed to prevent public utilities from delivering broadband in competition with the commercial carriers.
National Rural Telecommunications Cooperative, said subsidies from the federal government probably will be needed to ensure that high-speed Internet access extends to the most far-flung parts of the country.
Broadband is beginning to be perceived as a utility — not a luxury. Steve E. Collier, vp-emerging technologies, National Rural Telecommunications Cooperative: “There are certain things in this country that we believe people have a right to have no matter where they are: clean drinking water, paved roads, basic phone service, basic electric service. I think ultimately, broadband Internet is going to be one of those things.”
Here’s one possible solution.
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