Tuesday, January 18, 2011

Broadband Penetration vs Petition

We hear the petition: we need more broadband penetration. It's been a battle cry for years. There are entire organizations committed to it (www.internetforeveryone.org) and political battles raging over it. For the most part, it seems, the conversation centers on rural broadband. While some urban communities still lack broadband options, the more compelling (not to mention heart-warming) case is made for rural broadband investment--which of course, is usually followed by a discussion of grants and federal dough.

But here's what I don't understand. Among the arguments for bringing "internet for everyone," as the activist group as titled itself, is economic development. Businesses cannot be established in areas without broadband. Ergo, jobs cannot be created in areas without broadband. Ergo income levels are lower in areas without broadband. Ergo, lack of broadband penetration = economic depression.

So, help me understand why the only statistics tossed about are residential statistics. Depending on which report you read, somewhere in the neighborhood of 75% of American homes have access to broadband speeds. Would you believe that I have scoured the web and cannot find a statistic on business penetration? Perhaps it's because the figure would be far too high to fuel the debate.

Of course, there is an element of self-fulfillment here. As I noted above, the lack of broadband means lack of businesses... not businesses without broadband. So, by a mere percentage, the businesses with broadband might not look as bad as it is. The figure we should be more worried about is how many businesses do not exist (not adding to the divisor on that percentage) as a result of broadband penetration lack.

Nonetheless, has there been any research as to the number of businesses sustainable in these rural areas? Here are some stats that I'd love a researcher to produce:

Percentage of commercially zoned properties (developed or not) without broadband penetration.
Purchasing power (not number of households) of retail consumers in communities without broadband penetration.
Unemployed workforce (remember, many "rural" households are self-employed farmers) in communities without broadband penetration.

Let me be clear: I'm a proponent of extending broadband penetration. I am all for rural broadband investment. I just think we could make a more compelling argument with the aforementioned data.

Labels: broadband penetration, Economy, Rural Broadband