Related Guides on this Topic
You may also want to see these guides on related topics:
Health Information
Technology, Telehealth
Introduction
Americans are connecting to the Internet, and becoming
dependent on this technology for global communication, information,
and commerce, in record numbers; over sixty percent of households
now report having personal computers, with the great majority linked
to the Internet via high-speed access. And while Internet users
continue to expand at unprecedented rates, there is, nevertheless,
a discrepancy among those users: urban vs. rural. According Pew Internet & American Life Project reports, rural usage
of the Internet is nearly 10% behind that of urban usage (2004), and 24% of adults in rural America are online at home versus 39% of urban adults
(2005)- a phenomena which has come to be known as the digital divide.
Upon closer investigation it has become apparent this divide goes
beyond simple geography, it can also be dependent upon race and
economic status, resulting in unequal access for rural areas, particularly
Native American communities. In short, urban users typically have
access to the Internet in their homes, their schools and community
facilities, while their rural cousins find that all too often,
clean air and wide open spaces sometimes translates into being
left behind in this technological age.
Frequently Asked Questions
Tools
ARC Online Resource Center: Telecommunications
Web site
Offers resources and tools designed to help communities develop and learn about telecommunications programs. Many resources address rural technology issues.
Broadband Opportunities for Rural America
Web site
Provides a clearinghouse of information and resources on broadband opportunities for rural America.
Chief Information Officers (CIO) Council
Web site
Works to improve practices in the design, modernization, use, sharing, and performance of Federal Government agency information resources.
Connecting Rural Communities
Web site
Provides frequently asked questions and guides on how community leaders and stake holders can bring broadband to their communities and to help their organizations use digital technology to achieve goals and improve their social and economic well-being.
eStrategy.gov
Web site
Develops, coordinates, and defines ways that electronic and information technology business strategies can assist the Office of Management and Budget, interagency committees and other federal agencies. Works to enhance access to and delivery of information and services to citizens, business partners, employees, agencies, and government entities.
Find State and Local Technology Resources
Web site
Provides a map and a list of states and territories from which users can select to find the technology resources available for people with disabilities.
RSS in Plain English
Web site
Offers a short video describing how an RSS (Really Simple Syndication) subscription works and how to set up an RSS feed reader.
Rural Health Research: Technology
Web site
Provides summaries of current and completed rural health research projects and related publications addressing the topic of technology, produced by the Office of Rural Health Policy's funded rural health research centers.
Rural Telecommunications
Web site
Provides an overview of the issues communication and information services, what is determining market penetration, government telecommunication policy, and the suitability of various technologies in rural regions.
Funding
2009 National e-Commerce Extension Initiative: Program Implementation Mini-Grants
Funding to expand the adoption of e-commerce strategies by communities, small/micro businesses, and entrepreneurs across the country.
Microsoft Unlimited Potential: Community Technology Skills Program Grants
Grants to provide nonprofit organizations with funding to support technology training programs.
National Network of Libraries of Medicine Technology Improvement Awards
Award for the purchase, installation, and/or upgrading of information technologies that enhance access to health information.
RGK Foundation Grants
Grants that support projects in the broad areas of education, community, and medicine/health.
Stimulus Assistance: USDA Rural Development Programs
Grant, loan, and loan guarantee assistance to rural residents, rural communities, and rural utility systems.
USAC Rural Health Care Service Discounts
Provides discounts to rural health care providers to obtain Internet and telecommunications access.
Inactive Funding
Inactive Funding Opportunities -
Lists additional funding programs for this topic that are not currently accepting applications. Programs that are inactive may be offered again in the future.
Regulations, Forms & Other Useful Documents
Bringing Broadband to Rural America: Report on a Rural Broadband Strategy
Author(s): Michael J. Copps
Sponsoring organization: Federal Communications Commission
Describes a comprehensive rural broadband strategy to Congress that includes recommendations for improving interagency coordination of broadband policies and initiatives for assessing broadband needs in rural areas, and for specific federal agency programs and resources to overcome the obstacles that currently impede rural broadband deployment.
Date: 05 / 2009
Broadband Connection Highs and Lows Across Rural America
Author(s): Tim Murphy, Bill Bishop
Uses data from the 2007 Census of Agriculture to display the presence and use of high speed Internet access on America's farms.
Date: 02 / 2009
Broadband Internet Access and the Digital Divide: Federal Assistance Programs
Author(s): Lennard G. Kruger, Angele A. Gilroy
Sponsoring organization: Congressional Research Service
Covers broadband Internet access issues in rural and underserved areas. Also covers the federal assistance programs as well as state and local broadband activities.
Date: 06 / 2008
Broadband Internet Service Helping Create a Rural Digital Economy
Author(s): Peter Stenberg, Mitch Morehart, John Cromartie
Sponsoring organization: USDA Economic Research Service
Discusses the benefits of broadband high speed Internet service in rural communities in relation to employment and economic growth.
Date: 09 / 2009
Broadband Internet's Value for Rural America
Author(s): Peter Stenberg, Mitch Morehart, Stephen Vogel, John Cromartie, Vince Breneman, Dennis Brown
Sponsoring organization: USDA Economic Research Service
This report analyzes (1) rural broadband use by consumers, the community-at-large, and businesses; (2) rural broadband availability; and (3) broadband's social and economic effects on rural areas.
Date: 08 / 2009
Broadband Use by Rural Small Business
Author(s): Stephen B. Pociask
Sponsoring organization: Small Business Administration
Describes the urban-rural digital divide in the provision of broadband services and the impact this can have on rural small businesses. Includes comparison of rural versus urban broadband costs and demographics of broadband users. Also discusses the use of VoIP (voice over IP) in rural versus urban areas.
Date: 12 / 2005
Closing the Rural Broadband Gap
Author(s): Robert LaRose, Jennifer L. Gregg, Sharon Strover, Joseph Straubhaar, Nobuya Inagaki
Identifies the impacts of accessible rural broadband networks on the adoption and use of broadband services and on community development. Covers rural-urban differences, social uses of the Internet, available grants, and Internet use for education.
Date: 11 / 2008
Comments of the Benton Foundation Center for Rural Strategies, the Rural Policy Research Institute, and the Telecommunications and Information Policy Institute at the University of Texas at Austin on the National Broadband Plan
Sponsoring organization: Rural Policy Research Institute
Comments on the modification of the existing Universal Service Fund (USF) programs to provide access to all Americans, particularly rural populations.
Date: 06 / 2009
Comments of the Rural Internet and Broadband Policy Group
Sponsoring organization: Center for Rural Strategies
Contains the comments shared by the Rural Internet and Broadband Policy Group with the FCC (Federal Communications Commission) to create a broadband plan that creates opportunity for rural America and the nation as a whole.
Date: 06 / 2009
Comments of the Rural Policy Research Institute to US Department of Commerce National Telecommunications and Information Administration
Author(s): Brian Dabson
Sponsoring organization: Rural Policy Research Institute
Describes issues associated with high-speed Internet access in rural America and recommends principles for rural broadband policy.
Date: 04 / 2009
Comments on the National Broadband Plan, Rural Internet and Broadband Policy Group
Sponsoring organization: Rural Policy Research Institute
Comments and recommendations on the National Broadband Plan from the Rural Internet and Broadband Policy Group - organizations dedicated to rural broadband and rural development.
Date: 01 / 2009
Disability and the Digital Divide: Comparing Surveys with Disability Data
Sponsoring organization: Research and Training Center on Disability in Rural Communities
Discusses how surveys consistently report that people with disabilities have only half the rate of Internet access of people without a disability. Despite regular increases over time, people with disabilities have not caught up, and still face a significant digital divide.
Date: 06 / 2006
Expanding Telecommunications Access in Indian Country
Sponsoring organization: Federal Communications Commission
Provides an overview of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), the types of available communications technology, and FCC programs that are aimed at promoting
telecommunications services in Indian Country.
Date: 07 / 2006
FCC Narrowbanding Mandate: What You Need to Know to Assure Radio Communications in 2013
Briefly describes the implications of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Narrowbanding Mandate which replaces radio frequencies with digital communications.
Date: 2009
FCC's Universal Service Program for Rural Health Care Providers
Sponsoring organization: Federal Communications Commission
Describes the telecommunications support available to rural health care providers through the Universal Service program, benefits of the program, how it works and how it is funded.
Date: 11 / 2007
Getting Connected: Broadband Services a Key to a Vibrant Rural America
Author(s): Theodore Alter, Jeffrey Bridger, Sheila Sager, Kai Schafft, William Shuffstall
Sponsoring organization: Rural Sociological Society
Describes the current situation of broadband services in rural America and discusses the federal, state, and local broadband policies and policy options.
Journal citation: Rural Realities Volume 2 Issue 1
Date: 2007
Health Care Unplugged: The Evolving Role of Wireless Technology
Author(s): Richard Adler
Sponsoring organization: California HealthCare Foundation
Provides an overview of the global wireless revolution. Describes wireless health care applications that are currently available or under development. Considers the impact of these advances, future developments and their implications for health care.
Date: 11 / 2007
Home Broadband Adoption 2009
Author(s): John Horrigan
Sponsoring organization: Pew Internet and American Life Project
Reports findings from an April 2009 survey on the use of broadband Internet connections among Americans. Includes data by age groups, income brackets, those living in rural areas, education level, and ethnicity.
Date: 06 / 2009
iDelta: Information Technology in the Delta
Author(s): Sandra Johnson, Scott Doron, Linda Hoke, Charity Pennock
Sponsoring organization: Delta Regional Authority
Identifies opportunities and current activities in the Delta Regional Authority (240 counties and parishes in parts of eight southern states) that utilize high-speed Internet access. Includes a literature review and highlights current utilization of broadband.
Date: 02 / 2007
Lower Cost Domestic Sourcing: A Niche Opportunity for the US
Synthesizes opinions and provides a view of how the US can become a more cost-effective global sourcing destination by encouraging and nurturing job creation in smaller American communities, thereby enabling more cost effective information technology services delivery in the US.
Date: 07 / 2007
Power of Technological Innovation in Rural America
Author(s): Jason Henderson
Sponsoring organization: Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City
Explores how technological adoption can help invigorate rural economies by creating new products, improving production processes, and opening up new markets.
Journal citation: Main Street Economist Volume 2 Issue 4
Date: 2007
Rural Areas and the Internet
Sponsoring organization: Pew Research Center for the People and the Press
Discusses results of a survey conducted between March and August 2003 on use of the Internet in rural areas. Includes availability of Internet services and demographics of Internet users in rural areas. Also includes discussion of why rural Internet penetration is less than in urban areas.
Date: 02 / 2004
Rural Broadband At A Glance, 2009 Edition
Author(s): Peter Stenberg, Sarah Low
Sponsoring organization: USDA Economic Research Service
Reports on broadband access in rural America with comparisons to urban counterparts.
Date: 02 / 2009
Rural Broadband: A RUPRI Policy Brief
Author(s): Brian Dabson, Jennifer Keller
Sponsoring organization: Rural Policy Research Institute
Provides analysis of rural broadband accessibility, usage, technology development, and government action. Recommends principles which should underlay future rural broadband policy.
Date: 12 / 2008
Strength of Internet Ties
Author(s): Jeffrey Boase, John B. Horrigan, Barry Wellman, Lee Rainie
Sponsoring organization: Pew Internet and American Life Project
Highlights how the Internet, particularly email, supplements the communication people have with others in their network who are geographically dispersed. Extended networks appear to be beneficial in helping people face problems or make significant decisions, such as those related to career changes and education.
Date: 01 / 2006
Tackling the Rising Cost of Electricity: Options for Rural America
Author(s): Amy Glasmeier
Sponsoring organization: Rural Sociological Society
Offers policy and community action options that can help rural areas handle rising energy costs. Options presented include, but are not limited to: cash rebates, implementing new technology, and adopting stricter building codes.
Journal citation: Rural Realities Volume 3 Issue 1
Date: 03 / 2009
Telecommunications: Challenges to Assessing and Improving Telecommunications for Native Americans on Tribal Lands
Sponsoring organization: Government Accountability Office
Discusses the status of telecommunications access for Native Americans living on tribal lands, federal programs available for improving telecommunications, barriers to improvements, and how some tribes are addressing these barriers.
Date: 01 / 2006
What Needs to be Done About Big Broadband
Author(s): Milda K. Hedblom
Sponsoring organization: Center for Rural Policy and Development
Discusses "big broadband" and if public bodies should invest in and operate the networks in the same way that privately owned companies do. Focuses on rural Minnesota communities.
Journal citation: Rural Minnesota Journal Volume 2 Issue 2
Date: 2007
Why Broadband Needs to Reach Rural America
Author(s): Sharon Strover, Brian Dabson
Sponsoring organization: RUPRI Center for Rural Health Policy Analysis
Describes why broadband access is important to rural communities and suggests that training programs attribute to its successful implementation.
Date: 02 / 2009
Organizations
Alliance for Public Technology (APT)
Nonprofit/Foundation
Works to foster access to affordable and useful information and communication services and technologies by all people.
Benton Foundation
Nonprofit/Foundation
Works to build a public interest vision for the digital age and to demonstrate the value of communications for solving social problems.
Community Technology Centers' Network (CTCNet)
National organization
Comprises 1000 organizations that work to improve the educational, economic, cultural and political life of their communities through technology. Provides resources and advocacy to improve the quality and sustainability of community technology centers and programs at the local, national and international level.
Digital Divide Network (DDN)
Nonprofit/Foundation
Serves as an online clearinghouse of news and resources relating to the digital divide.
Foundation for Information Technology Education
Nonprofit/Foundation
Seeks to provide leadership in identifying educational opportunities that will advance the information systems profession.
Internet2
National organization
Serves as an advanced networking consortium of universities, industry, and government that promotes and provides both network capabilities and partnership opportunities that together facilitate the development, deployment and use of new Internet technologies.
Pew Internet and American Life Project
Nonprofit/Foundation
Explores the impact of the Internet on children, families, communities, the work place, schools, health care and civic/political life. Offers information on the Internet's growth and societal impact.
Rural Cellular Association (RCA)
National organization
Represents rural wireless telecommunications providers throughout the United States. Speaks on issues that concern its members and keeps them informed through sharing of information, knowledge, and expertise.
Rural Mobile Broadband Alliance (RuMBA)
National organization
Serves as a social network with a focuses on the communications needs of rural Americans. Seeks to ensure that rural communities are offered the same affordable wireless broadband services available to urban and suburban areas, and equal access to wireless E-911 Phase II (location-based) coverage.
Rural Telecommunications Congress (RTC)
National organization
Dedicated to assuring that rural areas in the United States have access to the information and support they need to obtain and use advanced telecommunications services and technology for social and economic development.
Technology Innovation Program (TIP)
Federal government
Works to help U.S. businesses, nonprofit research entities, and higher education institutions to support, promote, and accelerate innovation through research.
Universal Service Administrative Company (USAC)
Nonprofit/Foundation
Provides states and U.S. territories with access to affordable telecommunications services through the Universal Service Fund. Administers four programs: the High Cost Program, the Low Income Program, the Rural Health Care Program, and the Schools and Libraries Program.
Terms & Acronyms
Broadband Refers to telecommunications data transmissions in which a single wire can carry multiple channels of data.
Broadband Internet Access A high data-transmission rate internet connection. DSL and cable modem, popular consumer broadband technologies, are capable of transmitting 256 kilobits per second or more, approximately nine times the speed of a modem using a standard digital telephone line.
Computerized Provider Order Entry (CPOE) A system that includes both inpatient orders and the electronic ordering of outpatient prescriptions often referred to as e-prescribing. The CPOE allows physicians and other caregivers to input orders directly into a computer, thereby eliminating problems with handwriting legibility and order transcription.
Dial-up An Internet service feature that allows a computer terminal to use telephone systems (telephone lines) to initiate and communicate with other computers.
Digital Divide The term describes patterns of unequal access to information technology, primarily used with computers and the Internet. The gap exists between individuals who have access to use information technology and those who do not. Often the term is used to describe the discrepancy between those who have the skills, knowledge and abilities to use the technologies and those who do not. The digital divide is often used to refer to whole communities, such as urban or rural, but it is also used to identify residents within a community.
Digital Subscriber Loop (DSL) A method for moving data over regular phone lines. A DSL circuit is much faster than a regular phone connection, and the wires coming into the subscriber's premises are the same copper wires used for regular phone service.
E-Government (E-Gov) An abbreviated term to represent electronic government which uses improved Internet-based technology to make it easy for citizens and businesses to interact with the government, save taxpayer dollars, and streamline citizen-to-government communications.
Electronic Medical Record (EMR) A generic term used to describe a computer-based patient medical record that includes patient information regarding diagnoses, test/procedure results and other relevant medical information such as medical appointments and correspondence.
Federal Communications Commission (FCC) An independent United States government agency, directly responsible to Congress. The FCC regulates interstate and international communications by radio, television, wire, satellite and cable. The FCC's jurisdiction covers the 50 states, the District of Columbia, and U.S. possessions.
Health Information Technology (HIT) A significant infrastructure that involves the application of computer technology to generate, validate, secure and integrate healthcare data so it can be effectively utilized to support the decision-making activities of clinical and administrative professionals. HIT can provide immediate access to patient information, care guidelines for clinicians, or health services that transcend geographic distances.
High Speed Internet Descriptive of a network or terminal that uses electromagnetic waves (including rf, infrared, laser, visible light - and acoustic energy) rather than wire conductors for telecommunications, hence wireless.
Internet A worldwide interconnection of individual networks with an agreement on how to talk to each other, and operated by government, industry, academia, and private parties.
Internet Service Provider (ISP) A company or organization that provides connections to the Internet to companies or individuals via dial-up, ISDN, T1, or other connection.
Internet2 A non-profit broadband networking consortium comprising of 206 universities working in partnership with industry and government to develop and deploy advanced network applications and technologies, accelerating the creation of tomorrow's Internet.
Multi-channel Multi-point Distribution System (MMDS) A wireless broadband technology for Internet Access. MMDS channels come in six MHz chunks and run on frequencies licensed by the FCC. MMDS is a line-of-sight service, and will not work well in mountainous regions, but it will work in rural areas where copper lines are not available. Also known as Multi-channel Microwave Distribution System and wireless cable.
Non Line-of-sight (NLOS) Refers to the transmission of radio wave signals not requiring a line-or-sight technology. Describes a partially obstructed path between the location of the signal transmitter and the location of the signal receiver. Obstacles that can cause an obstruction in the line of sight include trees, buildings, mountains, hills and other natural or manmade structures or objects.
Personal Health Record (PHR) A collection of important information about a person's health or the health of someone a person is caring for, such as a parent or child. The PHR is actively maintained and updated by both the healthcare provider, the care giver, and the person for whom it belongs.
Wi-Fi A set of product compatibility standards for wireless local area networks (WLAN) based on the IEEE 802.11 specifications. Intended to be used for mobile devices and LANs, but is now often used for Internet access.
Wireless Access Computer terminal access to the Internet or a network which uses wireless technology.
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