Broadband Internet's Value for Rural America

Broadband Internet's Value for Rural America, a new report from the US Department of Agriculture, finds that rural communities with greater broadband Internet access have greater economic growth than areas with less access. The study compared counties that had broadband access relatively early -- by 2000 -- with similarly situated counties that had little or no broadband access. Employment growth was higher and non-farm private earnings greater in counties with a longer history of broadband availability. By 2007, the study found, most households - 82 percent - with in-home Internet access had a broadband connection. However, there was a marked difference between urban and rural broadband use. Only 70 percent of rural households with in-home Internet access had a broadband connection in 2007, compared with 84 percent of urban households.