As the first Baby Boomers turn 65 this year, they join the 13 percent of Americans that age or older. And that cohort is growing. While communities struggle to find the funding and infrastructure to cope with the aging, one area is particularly at risk — rural America. Read More »
United Farm Workers President Arturo Rodriguez announced in a July 12, 2011, newspaper op-ed that the fabled union is supporting the AT&T/T-Mobile merger, in part because it promises to bring information technology to rural areas. Read More »
In early July, Democratic Senators Mark Warner (Va.) and John Kerry (Mass.) wrote to the Federal Communications Commission urging that the FCC reallocate resources from providing universal landline phone service to broadband. The letter asked that the $8 billion Universal Service Fund be used for areas lacking in modern broadband service, and that they be brought up to baseline speed. Read More »
The federal government needs to foster the creation of more broadband networks in the rural areas of the United States, according to a new study. Read More »
Representative Doris Matsui (D-CA) has re-introduced her bill that would require the FCC to fund pilot programs providing subsidies to low-income households to purchase broadband service, supported by the Universal Service Fund. Read More »
A new White House program seeks to increase opportunities in rural communities across America. The White House Rural Council, formally announced earlier this month, will address the challenges facing rural businesses, organizations, and families. Read More »
Reforms to the Universal Service Fund, a service that helps connect rural communities, should be strengthened and expanded to encompass broadband connectivity. According to a column by former U.S. Senator Byron Dorgan on The Hill's Congress Blog, the USF faces new funding pressures that could weaken its reach across the digital divide. Read More »
In a filing to the FCC, the National Grange, the nation's oldest national agricultural organization, added its name to a growing list of organization supporting the merger of AT&T and T-Mobile. Read More »
The FCC’s latest broadband report finds that approximately 26 million Americans, mostly in rural communities, have no access to broadband. Even where broadband is available, one in three Americans — 100 million people — do not subscribe, due to high costs, low digital literacy, or concerns about privacy. Read More »
Many small and medium-sized rural businesses are thriving thanks to their adoption of broadband technology. Despite being geographically isolated from other more populous areas, the Internet allows businesses to market products and services from virtually any location in the United States. Read More »
