Researchers say rural U.S. counties with high adoption rates display improved economic indicators.
It's adoption of broadband, not just availability, that matters most for rural economies, researchers say.
Academic researchers led by an Oklahoma State University associate professor have new proof to back a familiar claim: that high-performance broadband network usage correlates with economic growth in rural America.
The team of researchers examined county-level data describing economic conditions including household income, the number of employers and growth in employment. They then compared these data with broadband adoption in the same geographies from 2001 to 2010, finding a “significant relationship” between broadband adoption and economic gains. The study was released in August 2014.
Among findings: counties with a high broadband adoption levels, defined as 60% or greater penetration of wired high-speed Internet, saw higher income growth and a smaller increase in unemployment rates than counties with broadband adoption below 60%.
