کد مقاله کد نشریه سال انتشار مقاله انگلیسی نسخه تمام متن
1024620 941759 2011 10 صفحه PDF دانلود رایگان
عنوان انگلیسی مقاله ISI
Exploring geographic disparities in broadband access and use in rural southern Illinois: Who's being left behind?
موضوعات مرتبط
علوم انسانی و اجتماعی مدیریت، کسب و کار و حسابداری کسب و کار، مدیریت و حسابداری (عمومی)
پیش نمایش صفحه اول مقاله
Exploring geographic disparities in broadband access and use in rural southern Illinois: Who's being left behind?
چکیده انگلیسی

Recent literature about broadband telecommunications reveals two major areas that are not only globally gaining prominence, but are also demanding urgent attention from a research perspective. One of the key areas is related to the need to spatially evaluate the availability and deployment of broadband services, especially among urban versus rural communities. Another area of interest falls under the need for enabling broadband policies and strategies that address existing geographic disparities. These motivating factors shaped this research and provided a basis for defining three specific objectives, namely: (1) to identify locations with or without broadband access, (2) to identify underserved rural and inner-city markets, and (3) to determine whether university and community college towns can be used in the adoption and dispersion of broadband technologies in southern Illinois. Supply-side and demand-side data were collected and inputted into a Geographic Information System (GIS). Supply-side data included cable modem, digital subscriber lines (DSL), wireless, and fiber optic lines, while demand data included reported broadband requests from individuals without access (n = 439), students (n = 45,866), and higher education workforce (n = 5419). Using the GIS and statistical techniques, insightful maps of broadband infrastructure were created to illustrate areas of supply and demand so that governments and businesses can address existing gaps in consumer needs. Specifically, different levels of broadband access and use were mapped; different under-served rural and inner-city markets were identified so as to emphasize the dramatic economic impact on the business opportunities available to small business entrepreneurs. Also, different geographies of use and accessibility of broadband connectivity in the study region were synthesized to support decision-making. The resulting maps provided supply and demand marketing intelligence based on the geographic analyses of residential and enterprise sectors. These data can be used as a model to develop specific policy recommendations for a knowledge-based economy, specifically for the southern Illinois region or other rural communities in the United States.

Research Highlights
► This study evaluates availability and deployment of broadband services.
► Limited high speed Internet exists among a half million rural population in Southern Illinois.
► Income, age 5 to 54, and college education, are the core-driving demand factors.
► Good to excellent signal strength exists on average, 1.43–2.83 miles from the wireless tower.
► Spatial model may facilitate specific policy for a knowledge-based economy.

ناشر
Database: Elsevier - ScienceDirect (ساینس دایرکت)
Journal: Government Information Quarterly - Volume 28, Issue 2, April 2011, Pages 252–261
نویسندگان
,