TVA Rural Studies

Telecommunications Technology and American Rural Development in the 21st Century

Edward J. Malecki
Department of Geography
University of Florida
Gainesville, FL 32611-7315
July 1996

3. The Internet and the Bandwidth Issue

Perhaps the most important new technology is one which grew out of the military effort in the USA -- the Internet. This dispersed network of computers was designed to function as a communications system without the need for a central computer. Its dispersed nature has made it the medium of choice among those who prize democracy over centralized control (Anderson 1995). However, a closer examination of the Internet reveals some characteristics that suggest potential shortcomings. First, connection to the Internet, especially to its graphical, multimedia counterpart, the World Wide Web, closely follows the pattern of telephone usage and of income. This means that on a global basis this "democratic" medium benefits primarily wealthy democrats rather than poor ones. The principal reason for this is that telephone connectivity varies greatly around the world, being best in North America, Western Europe, and Australia and New Zealand (Warf 1995). For example, many rural areas in the USA do not have direct access to the Internet, and many have no Internet Access Provider without a long-distance (toll) charge; telephone line quality also varies (James 1996). All of these can reduce or eliminate Internet access.

The quantity of telephone service is closely related to the second shortcoming identified by the spread of Internet use. The World Wide Web demands greater bandwidth and transmission speed than is typically available even in wealthy countries. This means that even when telephone infrastructure is made available to remote and rural areas, they will in most cases not have access to wide bandwidth capability and therefore still be unable to take advantage of full Internet usage (Preston 1995).

Most generalizations about telecommunications overlook the issue of bandwidth and the heavy presence of existing telephone infrastructure. The new wireless technologies are confined to voice, facsimile and low-speed data, and they fail to provide the bandwidth needed for World Wide Web access provided by wire-based infrastructures (Preston 1995: 257-258; Rupley 1996). The new technologies (microwave towers and satellites) also are costly (The Economist 1993: 48-49). The cost of new "cyber-cellular phones" $2,000 including connectors, modem and software is prohibitive for most users, and although able to access the Internet, is still, like radio modems, not capable of efficiently surfing the Web or of sending long documents, graphics or multimedia (Brown 1996; Hickman 1996). It is likely that wireless networks in the future (ten years or so in the future) will be able to provide multimedia service (Zysman 1995).

While many see wireless (radio) technologies as central to future lifestyles and workstyles (Forge 1996; Haynes 1993), "mobile or other wireless services do not yet constitute comprehensive and viable substitutes for wire-based systems" (Preston 1995: 258; Egan 1996). The potential of these systems lies mainly in their ability to provide basic (voice, fax, and data transmission) service to remote places (Wright 1995). For these and other technologies, economic criteria are often downplayed, and suggest that substantial subsidies would be required to serve rural and peripheral areas. The question that must be answered is: "Would people rather have bandwidth or mobility?" (Cairncross 1995: 11). The two suggest very different futures for rural areas.

As an answer to the bandwidth problem, integrated services digital network (ISDN) standards allow shared voice, data, facsimile (fax), and pictures to move in digital mode over copper wires (Heldman 1994). The principal advantage of ISDN is to permit a range of communication over existing telephone networks, rather than requiring new infrastructure. Widespread availability in the US has been slow, except for "islands" of use concentrated in large cities, because of continuing government regulation, costs and lack of standardization (Gregg 1992). Recent demand for Internet access has spurred ISDN in the U.S.; it is already widespread in France, Germany, Japan, and the U.K. (The Economist 1995b). Other, newer technologies include cable modems (The Economist 1996a), which obviously require cable infrastructure not present in many rural areas, and asymmetric digital subscriber line (ASDL) modems, which expand greatly the speed at which transmission takes place over copper wires (falling somewhere between cable modems and ISDN) (The Economist 1996b). Both of these technologies are being implemented first in urban not rural areas, and investment costs (for digital backbone systems and two-way cable capability) suggest that neither will be widespread soon (Derfler 1996). Satellites and other wireless technologies are commonly proposed solutions for rural development (OTA 1991). Wireless Internet access, seemingly an answer for rural areas, require radios to be spaced on utility poles at half-mile intervals. Thus, it too is being aimed at dense urban areas, such as the San Francisco Bay and Washington, DC, areas (Matzkin 1996).

The principal dilemma is between the continual development of new technologies, which are certain to favor urban areas, and new concepts of universal service. Technological change has greatly changed the concept of universal service. Traditionally, voice grade or dial-tone (narrowband) service was considered the standard level of service to be provided universally. The Internet and personal computers require digital capability, and preferably interactive video (broadband), which is not universally available, especially in rural areas. This raises the question: "Which services should be included in universal service?" (Weinhaus et al. 1994: 3).

Complicating the question is the entry of numerous new providers. As video and computer technologies merge with voice telecommunications, cable TV and computer network firms have (or will soon have) the capability to provide the full array of telecommunications services. Should information services, high-speed transmission, and two-way interactive video be considered within the scope of universal service? For rural areas, the cost of upgrading voice or dial-tone lines to broadband service would be prohibitive. Urban and suburban (metropolitan) areas have been the principal markets for new services, because their customer base includes larger numbers of customers who are willing even eager to adopt new services. The much smaller number of rural customers in any service area, as well as nationwide, means that rural areas are certain to be late in the service provision sequence.

Complicating the policy choices concerning construction of local ISDN (or other broadband or high-capacity) networks is the fact that many firms have already built their own local area networks (LANs) and even connections to existing wide area networks (WANs). WANs include public data networks and private data networks, whether owned by a corporation or managed by a communications carrier. The technological capabilities and regulatory issues are far from resolved at this time (Linhart, Radner, and Tewari 1992; Steinfield, Bauer, and Caby 1994). The major regulatory issues tend to revolve around the details of, and fees for, interconnection with local exchange companies (Brock 1994: 243-256). At the same time, new players are entering the business as telecommunications providers, including electric utility companies, cable television firms, and gas pipeline companies (Arnst, Kelly and Burrows 1995). Technological issues are unresolved as well, and some observers believe that broadband ISDN and fiber optics could replace satellites completely (Solomon 1990). The uncertain nature of telecommunications technology, combined with its tendency to be cited as a major force for the future, has led Mansell (1990) to refer to telecommunications infrastructure as "the new black box'." Much of the uncertainty centers on standards which now must interface myriad national systems in order to provide a seamless global network of a greater number of more complex technologies (Drahos and Joseph 1995; Drake 1994).

The regulatory structure that once provided rural areas equal access to communications technology "is coming unraveled" (OTA 1991: 7). It is not only deregulation, however. Equally involved is the unrelenting development of private networks by large firms, which has siphoned off revenues from traditional carriers. Most government-run telecommunications projects, including distance education and telemedicine, are effectively private networks as well, bypassing the public networks (E. Parker 1995).

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