Internet Access in Rural Areas
- Why do we need to provide internet to rural areas?
- Provide a reason from the viewpoint of equity.
Rural dwellers who do not have the internet cannot access jobs, opportunities, information, education, and public participation opportunities that are afforded to those living in urban areas enhancing inequality already experienced. One hundred sixty-three million Americans do not have access to the internet according to data from Microsoft. Most of these people live in rural areas in the inner cities where they are already disadvantaged.
- Provide a reason from the viewpoint of positive externalities.
Improved internet access by rural individuals will increase literacy rates for people in the areas and as a consequence, reduce crime. It will also increase the accountability of state and municipal officials by allowing their rural population to communicate easier with their officials. This will undoubtedly result in increased efficiency of service delivery and promote good governance.
- Choose one ‘command and control’ and one ‘market based’ policy among their proposal in the ‘Key initiatives’ column on the right. Briefly explain why you made such a choice.
Command and Control
Establishing the Digital Opportunity Data Collection, a new process for collecting fixed broadband data to improve mapping and better identify gaps in broadband coverage across the nation.
Command and control policies are a regulatory instrument used by the government, such as this order by the government, which will hopefully establish a better way to identify areas that require internet access. The shortfall in figures given by the government regarding internet access contributes to poor internet penetration in rural areas.
Market-based
Launching the Rural Digital Opportunity Fund, which would direct up to $20.4 billion to expand broadband in unserved rural areas. This represents the biggest single step ever by the FCC toward closing the rural digital divide.
Market-based policies are policy instruments that utilize economic variables such as the funding provided by the government through the FCC to help provide the rural population with internet.
- Legal barriers to internet access in rural areas include the ban of municipal broadband internet in a majority of states, while natural barriers natural barriers are the user experience of internet users who have described ISP providers as ‘cartels.
- Municipal broadband internet is a market-based policy since it provides internet users with broadband internet at a lower price. They also offer faster internet speeds, for example, 200 faster internet speeds in Chattanooga, Tennessee.