ARTICLE by Wille Davis: Scott County, Virginia was once a hub for big tobacco farms, and its location nestled between two coal rich areas provided an opportunity for residents to work in the mines. Once the income from the tobacco industry and the coal companies dried up, however, the county suffered. The population has been […]
Rural communities nationwide are far more likely than their urban counterparts to have slower download speeds, only one choice in provider and a lack of adequate broadband infrastructure. Yet in places like eastern Kentucky, the economic future of the region depends greatly on closing this digital divide. Dean and Karen Hill run Dean Hill photography […]
Access to high speed internet service, or broadband, is increasingly seen by many policymakers as a necessity for community vitality. This feature includes comments from Dee Davis, Center for Rural Strategy, on the center’s findings that rural communities will be economically crippled without access to high speed internet; a brief check in with Lisa Fanin […]
One obstacle many communities face as they work to generate employment and economic growth in the region, is a lack of good internet access. A while ago we reported on an initiative by the local telephone co-op in Scott County, Virginia. There’s a similar story unfolding in northeastern Kentucky at the Mountain Telephone Cooperative. […]