Wanted: Broadband and Broader Minds

editor — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 10:51:05 -0700

Logo for Eleutian.com: based in Wyoming, training Koreans to speak English with online instruction
Image: eleutian.com

As a technology professional in rural Montana, I had thought rural broadband was all about technology. And it’s true that the infrastructure needed to support most rural communities is subpar at best. So with that thought in mind, I sat down with Frank Odasz of Lone Eagle Consulting to discuss rural broadband and e-commerce.

Odasz's company, based in Dillon, Montana, offers a culturally diverse set of Internet training guides and online courses in e-business. Lone Eagle Consulting specializes in what Odasz calls "instructional entrepreneurship." Resources available on the Lone Eagle website are vast and deep, with information on development, education, and technology in rural communities. Talking with this expert on rural technology education issues has changed the way I think about rural life.

For over ten years, advocates and government officials have been pushing to increase the availability of rural broadband Internet service. The Pew Foundation has estimated that, as of 2007, 47% of urban/suburban Americans had broadband Internet access at home, and 71% have some kind access to the Internet. In rural areas, the broadband percentage drops to 31%, and only 60% of all rural residents have any Internet access at all.

By Benjamin Power

Wanted: Broadband and Broader Minds