U.S. spectrum management policy : an agenda for the future.

"February 1991."Shipping list no.: 92-241-P.Includes bibliographical references.Mode of access: Internet

Advanced Telecommunications in Rural America: The Challenge of Bringing Broadband Service to All Americans

Excerpts from the report: The report provides an overview of broadband technologies and the deployment of these technologies. As yet, there are no comprehensive, publicly available surveys or studies documenting broadband deployment across the nation. NTIA and RUS staff therefore provided this overview by drawing on a variety of sources including electrical engineering texts, professional and trade journals, specialized studies, and discussions with rural communication providers, Regional Bell Operating Companies (RBOCs), cable TV providers, terrestrial and satellite wireless communication companies, and state regulators. These discussions were supplemented with an examination of industry supplied information pertaining to current and future deployment of broadband services, where available. This report finds that rural areas are currently lagging far behind urban areas in broadband availability. Deployment in rural towns (populations of fewer than 2,500) is more likely to occur than in remote areas outside of towns. These latter areas present a special challenge for broadband deployment. Only two technologies, cable modem and digital subscriber line (DSL), are being deployed at a high rate, but the deployment is occurring primarily in urban markets. Broadband over cable, which provides most broadband service, has been deployed in large cities, suburban areas, and towns. One survey found that, while less than five percent of towns of 10,000 or less have cable modem service, more than 65 percent of all cities with populations over 250,000 have such service

Exploring Social Contextual Correlates of Computer Ownership and Frequency of Use Among Urban, Low-Income, Public Housing Adult Residents

Reviewer: Kind, TerryReviewer: Hargittai, EszterReviewer: Cullen, Karen[This item is a preserved copy and is not necessarily the most recent version. To view the current item, visit http://www.jmir.org/2007/4/e35/ ] Background: As advances in computer access continue to be made, there is a need to better understand the challenges of increasing access for racial/ethnic minorities, particularly among those with lower incomes. Larger social contextual factors, such as social networks and neighborhood factors, may influence computer ownership and the number of places where individuals have access to computers. Objectives: We examined the associations of sociodemographic and social contextual factors with computer ownership and frequency of use among 1554 adults living in urban public housing. Methods: Bivariate associations between dependent variables (computer ownership and regular computer use) and independent variables were used to build multivariable logistic models adjusted for age and site clusters. Results: Participants (N = total weighted size of 2270) were on average 51.0 (± 21.4) years old, primarily African American or Hispanic, and earned less than US $20000 per year. More than half owned a computer, and 42% were regular computer users. Reporting computer ownership was more likely if participants lived above the poverty level (OR = 1.78, 95% CI = 1.39-2.29), completed high school (OR = 2.46, 95% CI = 1.70-3.55), were in financial hardship (OR = 1.38, 95% CI = 1.06-1.81), were employed and supervised others (OR = 1.94, 95% CI = 1.08-3.46), and had multiple role responsibilities (OR = 2.18, 95% CI = 1.31-3.61). Regular computer use was more likely if participants were non-Hispanic (OR = 1.94, 95% CI = 1.30-2.91), lived above the poverty level (OR = 2.84, 95% CI = 1.90-4.24), completed high school (OR = 4.43, 95% CI = 3.04-6.46), were employed and supervised others (OR = 2.41, 95% CI = 1.37-4.22), felt safe in their neighborhood (OR = 1.57, 95% CI = 1.08-2.30), and had greater social network ties (OR = 3.09, 95% CI = 1.26-7.59). Conclusions: Disparities in computer ownership and use are narrowing, even among those with very low incomes; however, identifying factors that contribute to disparities in access for these groups will be necessary to ensure the efficacy of future technology-based interventions. A unique finding of our study is that it may be equally as important to consider specific social contextual factors when trying to increase access and use among low-income minorities, such as social network ties, household responsibilities, and neighborhood safety