"Rural communities across America continue to lag behind urban and suburban American areas in accessibility to quality education, health care, and communications technology. And ...these disparities are even greater when compared to countries such as Canada, Europe, and the industrial nations of Asia.
Without access to modern communications technology, rural communities are restricted from actively participating in the global economy, thereby limiting the quantity and quality of available services and restricting their ability to get their voices heard.
By Mark Lloyd
Full Story: http://www.americanprogress.org/issues/2007/06/lloyd_testimony.html