I have the pleasure of working in economic development for a utility provider and my job allows me to see where technology will advance in the future. I must say that I am quite excited about the future of rural communities because of broadband. Lately, there has been a push to expand reliable broadband access to rural areas across America. Generally, most people feel that expanding access to broadband is a good initiative, but I don’t know if people fully realize what broadband access actually means for us country folk.
Personally, I am not what Malcom Gladwell would call an “Early Adopter”, especially of technology. This is due, in part, because I have a hard time understanding how some of this new stuff will work. However, I am starting to see just how quickly some of this new technology has developed and how it may be useful for those Americans who do not want to live in a city. Fast and reliable broadband has the potential to connect rural communities to a number of opportunities and greatly transform our quality of life…… if we learn how to utilize it. This will allow people to live anywhere they want. Anywhere. The main purpose of this blog post is to share some of the obvious, the unknown, and emerging broadband driven capabilities.
Entertainment – Most of us know how to entertain ourselves with a good internet connection. YouTube, Netflix, Hulu….etc. More and more content streaming continues to develop. Some fiber broadband companies even offer television programming packages to subscribers.
Shopping – The other obvious use of broadband is for shopping and the greater access to a variety of consumer products that it brings. In years past, you had to buy what was in local stores or order through a catalog. Now, rural consumers have access to more variety. This has had a detrimental effect on rural economies as larger companies have more resources to compete on this front and it has drained retail sales tax dollars from rural communities. It appears that this may be changing as some states are implementing new sales tax policies to collect sales tax in the name of leveling the playing field for brick and mortar stores. The challenge for rural businesses is to learn how to play the e-commerce game as well as to expand their market area and consumer base. Reliable broadband is a must for this.
Education – In education, we know college online classes can offer convenience for those unable to travel to campus. This seems to continue to grow in use. I wonder how many will use it in the future. In rural areas, we continue to see population decline. This presents a number of challenges for schools. Some are even facing teacher shortages caused by retirements. I do not know why we could not utilize distance learning technology to have one county curriculum that offers the same level of education to all students and is delivered digitally to all schools in the county. The term for this is digital consolidation. This is a solution to minimize the pain caused by school closures and increased transportation costs by using technology.
Working – More and more of us are able to telecommute because of reliable broadband. I know of many people that may work for a call center from the comfort of their homes. A friend of mine was able to move back home and work remotely for Enterprise because our community had fiber service. A number of people use some of the following remote work job sites to find employment opportunities so they can work from home. https://weworkremotely.com/https://remote.co/https://remoteok.io/https://www.upwork.com/ Live where you want and still be able to find employment. It sounds like a positive thing for Rural America to me.
Telemedicine – Along the same lines, telemedicine allows health care providers a more flexible way to serve rural residents. Being able to see a specialist without driving would be a convenience for rural residents. All it would take is a provider, the right equipment and a reliable broadband connection. Our community has a tele-pharmacy, where I receive my medications from pharmacy technicians after having a video consultation with a pharmacist an hour away, and it all works just the same as it would in person.
Do you know people who say that rural areas are not for them because it doesn’t seem livable? Tell them to give me a call. Broadband is bringing all the amenities to the front door of rural America. No longer do those who are raising rural have to sacrifice amenities and convenience in exchange for an unbeatable quality of life.
Join us in the country,
Shawn