Rural broadband usage: analysing satisfaction and internet speed

ABSTRACT

Rural access to advanced information communications technology (ICT) lags behind urban areas. ICT availability in rural areas at the household level is understudied. Often, data sources test connectivity at one point in time and then aggregate to a larger geographical region (i.e. county level or census block). Thus, this research collects a high-resolution data set in the midwestern United States through two methods: 1) participants connect a device, recording 1800 readings; and 2) participants take a survey about internet satisfaction. These two methods culminate in a unique high-resolution dataset. Using this data, this article explores how much internet throughput a rural household uses compared to how much a satisfied household consumes, while reviewing the perception of need. Exploratory connections are found between throughput speeds, reliability, and surveyed satisfaction, further validating the research methods. This lends a new perspective to rural broadband usage and the criteria used to set broadband standards.

KEYWORDS:

• Communication
• rural broadband
• digital divide
• rural digital futures

Acknowledgements

Thank you to the extension offices and public power districts for helping distribute the testing units. We could not have completed our data collection without your help.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

This project was provided funding by Healthy Blue Nebraska. Nebraska Public Power District provided initial funding for the hardware used in this project. The Nebraska extension offices helped with distribution of the hardware to participants.