Rural Internet Access Cooperative : Satellite Internet - Social impacts of broadband Internet

With the proposed Broadband Stimulus plan, set forth by the Federal Government to enable rural areas of the country to have access to high-speed Internet services. An old fear has arisen, the erosion of community interactions in small town America. The theory was always that community involvement and participation would be lost forever as end users sought out their own virtual communities of shared interest over the Internet.

After a decade of research, however, just the opposite appears to be true. Studies have shown that Internet use increased civic engagement and community participation. In fact the concern now is that those with dial up services are being left out of community activities as it is a greater challenge for them to access information, through slow unreliable dial-up connections...