Rural Broadband Adoption is Better Than Availability at Predicting Economic Trends

According to a report by the American Action Forum (AAF), the availability alone of broadband doesn’t explain economic factors such as unemployment rate, median household income, change in employment or the rate of population changes. On the other hand, broadband adoption more effectively explains these trends, according to AAF Director of Technology and Innovation Policy, Will Rinehart.

By breaking down rural broadband availability using census tracking, the report shows that in rural areas, 38% of the population is without broadband access. By comparison, metropolitan areas had the smallest percentage of people without broadband access at only 1% while small town low commuting areas had the highest percent of people without broadband access at 45%.

This report concludes by highlighting the importance of making broadband not only available but affordable, and supporting the effort with broadband adoption programs.

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