Commonalities: The R.E.A. and High-Speed Rural Internet Access
Laurence J. Malone

TL;DR
This paper compares rural electrification with high-speed Internet deployment, highlighting regulatory and market challenges, and proposes federal efforts to ensure equitable broadband access in sparsely populated areas.
Contribution
It draws parallels between rural electrification and broadband deployment, analyzing regulatory barriers and proposing federal initiatives to promote rural high-speed Internet access.
Findings
Regulatory disincentives hinder rural broadband deployment
Market realities limit private investment in rural areas
Federal efforts are needed to achieve universal rural broadband access
Abstract
This paper explores commonalities between the creation of the Rural Electrification Administration and the similar dilemma of providing an affordable infrastructure for high-speed Internet access in places where profit incentives do not exist. In the case of the R.E.A., the necessity for an aggressive federal initiative to wire rural America, where the market for electricity had failed, is revisited as the missing incentives are identified and explored. We then examine the incentive-poor similarities between rural electrification and rural high-speed Internet access through how consumers currently and prospectively gain access to broadband Internet service. The regulatory environment created by the Telecommunications Act of 1996 and the Federal Communications Commission is considered. Although the FCC is required (Section 254.b.3) to take regulatory measures to ensure comparable and…
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Taxonomy
TopicsICT Impact and Policies
