Skip to main content
Article
Evaluating the Impact of Broadband Access and Internet Use in a Small Underserved Rural Community
Telecommunications Policy
  • Javier Valentín-Sívico, Missouri University of Science and Technology
  • Casey I. Canfield, Missouri University of Science and Technology
  • Sarah A. Low
  • Christel Gollnick
Abstract

Having adequate access to the internet at home enhances quality-of-life for households and facilitates economic and social opportunities. Despite increased investment in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, millions of households in the rural United States still lack adequate access to high-speed internet. In this study, we evaluate a wireless broadband network deployed in Turney, a small, underserved rural community in northwest Missouri. In addition to collecting survey data before and after this internet intervention, we collected pre-treatment and post-treatment survey data from comparison communities to serve as a control group. Due to technical constraints, some of Turney's interested participants could not connect to the network, creating an additional comparison group. These comparisons suggest two primary findings, (1) changes in using the internet for employment, education, and health could not be directly attributed to the internet intervention, and (2) the internet intervention was associated with benefits stemming from the ability to use multiple devices at once. This study has implications for the design of future broadband evaluation studies, particularly those examining underserved rather than unserved communities. Recommendations for identifying appropriate outcome variables, executing recruitment strategies, and selecting the timing of surveys are made.

Department(s)
Engineering Management and Systems Engineering
Publication Status
Open Access
Comments

National Science Foundation, Grant 2044448

Keywords and Phrases
  • Economic and Social Benefits,
  • Evaluation,
  • Rural Broadband,
  • Underserved Community,
  • Wireless
Document Type
Article - Journal
Document Version
Final Version
File Type
text
Language(s)
English
Rights
© 2023 Elsevier, All rights reserved.
Publication Date
5-1-2023
Publication Date
01 May 2023
Citation Information
Javier Valentín-Sívico, Casey I. Canfield, Sarah A. Low and Christel Gollnick. "Evaluating the Impact of Broadband Access and Internet Use in a Small Underserved Rural Community" Telecommunications Policy Vol. 47 Iss. 4 (2023) ISSN: 0308-5961
Available at: http://works.bepress.com/casey-canfield/35/