Broadband Economic Impact Report: Rural Broadband Supports 70K Jobs, $100B in E-Commerce

Investment in rural broadband boosts the economy – not just locally, but beyond – according to a new broadband economic impact report from The Hudson Institute sponsored by the Foundation for Rural Service. Rural broadband service providers contributed $24.2 billion to the economies of the states in which they operate in 2015, report author Hanns Kuttner said. And two thirds of this impact was felt in urban, rather than rural areas, according to the report titled “The Economic Impact of Rural Broadband.” This occurs, in large part, because key equipment and services needed to support broadband construction come from urban areas, the author noted. “Broadband is a relatively capital intensive sector and the capital goods overwhelmingly come from outside the areas rural broadband providers serve,” the report states. Other key findings of the Hudson Institute’s rural broadband economic impact report:

• The rural broadband industry supported 69,600 jobs in 2015, including its own employees and employees of companies from which the industry purchased goods and services.
• Rural broadband supported over $100 billion in e-commerce in 2015, with the largest share in manufacturing. About $10 billion involved retail sales. If broadband had the same reach in rural areas that it does in urban areas, sales would have been at least $1 billion higher.