Research Question

As an increasing number of participatory democratic processes assume access to modern, high-speed telecommunications services, the question is: are citizens in rural/remote areas being politically disenfranchised by lack of adequate, affordable and equal communications infrastructure?

The Montana Media Partnership recieved funding via the SSRC Collaborative Small Grant Program to address this question in the following ways:

• Research/write report on determining factors influencing availability of telecommunications services in rural/remote areas and approaches to bridging gaps that may be exposed (Dr. Richard Wolff, Montana State University)
• Publicize research and organize statewide coalition committed to ensuring participatory democracy via proactive communications policy (MT Common Cause)
• Develop strategic citizen outreach and advocacy campaign (CB Pearson, Strategic Consultant).

Background

High-speed Internet service has become widely available in urban and metropolitan areas, but to a lesser extent in rural and remote areas. According to FCC reports, there are over 65 million broadband access lines in the US and the growth rate is substantial http://www.fcc.gov/wcb/stats. In the high growth and usage regions, multiple service providers using a variety of technologies are offering access at competitive and attractive prices. The same studies show that there are substantial areas where few, if any high-speed Internet access alternatives are available and that the problem is particularly acute in rural and remote areas, where population densities are low, communities are distant from metropolitan centers, and rugged terrain are some of the contributing factors inhibiting broadband roll out. 

Access to high-speed telecommunications networks and information services has become an increasingly important part of our public and private lives. A growing number of services, ranging from banking and financial transactions to education, health care and a variety of government services are being provided “on-line” as the default, with more conventional delivery options offered as less attractive alternatives. While this approach is appealing to those with access means, the barriers for those without access are rising leading to issues of equity and exclusion.    

Among the numerous examples of communities and regions in remote areas where high-speed Internet access is available and flourishing, instances are characterized by a range of additional factors including high economic growth, proximity to high-quality transportation infrastructure such as Interstate highways and airports, the presence of educational and healthcare resources, the availability of recreational facilities and open public lands, as well as a variety of public policies encouraging to private investment and the formation of public-private partnerships. In some instances community-owned and operated high-speed networks have been established to fill service gaps created by the reticence of the traditional communications service providers to enter these niche markets.       

There is extensive public debate regarding the factors contributing to successful delivery of widely available and affordable Internet access in these underserved areas, yet there is a paucity of data examining the causative factors which differentiate successful and failed attempts to make high-speed Internet services available.

Methodology and Findings

Montana Common Cause and researcher Richard Wolff gathered survey data from a cross section of representative communities and rural areas in Montana and combined and compared this information with the results of larger scale surveys conducted periodically by the Federal Communications Commission and other organizations.

Using county wide and local information where available, the study reveals a number of significant patterns and gaps:

• While about two thirds of the counties have web sites, the services offered in the rural areas are not comparable to those available in the metro areas, and are well behind national levels.
• Many of the rural county are sponsored by business interests such as tourist agencies, chambers of commerce or real estate interests. These sites offer little in the way of transactional services that would enable citizen engagement in government.
• Rural county offer online services in less than 50% of the categories defined in a nationwide county and municipal e-government assessment. Even in Montana's metro counties, there are six of the twenty service categories where none of the counties offer the service online.
• Internet services and community-run electronic media, such as low power FM and TV coverage are less available in areas with older and declining populations. Similarly, these areas are not being served by wireless hot spots or community networks.
• While universal service fund expenditures for internet access for schools and libraries have been higher on a per capita basis in the rural areas of the state, the benefit to the general population is still very limited.  
• Internet service costs in Montana tend to run higher than the US overall. With the average cost in Montana exceeding the US average by 20%-40%.

See the project's press release: "Citizen access to democracy hurting in rural America"

The full report: “Citizen Political Enfranchisement and Information Access: Telecommunications Services in Rural and Remote Areas”

And additional coverage, from all eight major daily Montana newspapers (including the Helena Independent Record, New West, and Billings Gazette); radio stations (including Yellowstone Public Radio, Montana Public Radio-Morning News, and Big Sky News); and various websites, e-news letters, and blogs (Common Cause).