Bringing Broadband to Rural America

Source: Business Week September 18, 2008

Authors: Erik Hesseldahl

Concept: Target Markets, Segmentation

Brief Synopsis: This article is interesting in that it poses the idea of bringing broadband internet connection to rural areas that currently are only able to get the slow dial-up connections. There are many companies and business persons who live in rural areas and desperately need the broadband connection to operate and help customers. There is one company that is dedicated to getting broadband connections to rural areas by tracking demand and holding meetings in rural areas. However, the path to getting this accomplished is bumpy as companies aren't willing to cut profit margins for rural areas.

My Thoughts: I think this is a great idea. Personally, I grew up in a small town in rural Illinois and was only connected through the local dial-up server. My parents also own their own business in rural Illinois and have the same problem. I would need the internet for school projects and would have to spend hours longer than people who could get DSL in town. Likewise, my parents have to use the internet to place orders with some wholesalers since they no longer take orders over the phone. This takes up way too much time considering they are trying to run a business and have hundreds of other things to get done. The way technology is developing, it is almost necessary to extend broadband to rural internet users.