Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Document Number: C36371
Notes:
Pages 33-43 in Ineke Buskens and Anne Webb (eds.), African women and ICTs: investigating technology, gender and empowerment. Zed Books Ltd., London, UK. 222 pages.
Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Box: 167 Document Number: C27908
Notes:
Presented at the Participatory Communication Research Section in the annual meeting of the International Association for Media and Communication Research, Barcelona, Spain, July 21-26, 2002. 11 pages.
Discusses Voice-over-Internet Protocol (VoIP) in terms of skirting regulations and taxes that traditional telephone companies must comply with and pay. Users do not have to pay into the Universal Service Fund, which subsidizes telephone service in rural areas.
The potential for rural areas to benefit from telecommunications technology is a persistent question. This article examines data for the USA concerning the "digital divide" and access of residences and businesses, which tend to suggest that all is (or will soon be) well. The article also presents data on aspects of digital infrastructure in rural America, including points of presence and digital telephone switches, which suggest that there are major shortcomings in most rural communities. Demand aggregation is a possible solution, but more serious pitfalls are those related to shortages of human capital. These might be resolved in some rural places, where immigration and return migration bring needed cerebral inputs to rural areas. A final set of improvements concerns how businesses use the Internet and e-commerce. In the end, telecommunications is not a "quick fix" solution for rural development, and the desired improvements will be limited to a fraction of rural places.
Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Document Number: D06823
Notes:
Pages 297-308 in Massimo Ragnedda and Glenn W. Muschert (eds.), The digital divide: the internet and social inequalities in international perspective. Routledge, Taylor and Francis Group, Abingdon, Oxon, UK. 324 pages.
