Increased US Broadband Adoption Could Create 2.4 Million Jobs

Ward D points out a story about a recent study that predicts significant economic growth through increased broadband adoption in the U.S. The study is based on a program in Kentucky that has, through the increased use of broadband, "saved an average of more than $200 per person per year" on health-care services, and decreased the average amount of time residents spent driving by 100 hours per month. From Computerworld: "The Connected Nation model ... focuses more on broadband adoption and local needs than huge, government-funded programs. Several Kentucky businesses have benefited from the increased access, according to Connected Nation. Geek Squad, the Best Buy subsidiary, moved its headquarters to Bullitt County, Kentucky, in late 2006 because of the broadband availability."

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In other news

[bagsc]

Infrastructure reduces costs. Reduced costs increase consumption, which increases jobs. The question is not whether the infrastructure is beneficial (it is), but whether it is the best use of money given the risks. Of course AT&T thinks the government paying for their broadband network is good for the world.

Re:How much did these people drive before?

[QuantumRiff]

Actually, I can almost believe this. I live in a small town, out in the middle of no-where. You know, Rural. If I want anything other than a Wal-Mart or Homedepot, I have to drive 70 miles over a mountain range. If the pass is nasty (and in the winter it is) I have to drive 120 miles north. Of course, groceries and other necessary items are in my town, but other things aren't. Internet shopping has saved me many trips. Not many small towns have places that specialize in "big and tall" I'm 6'5, with size 15 foot. Clothes and shoe shopping used to be pain, involving day long trips, to hit the other towns. Definitely not 100 hours a month, but a few thousand miles a year.

Should say miles, not hours

[AlpineR]

From the report:

In the 2007 ConnectKentucky residential survey, 66% of broadband users report driving an average of 102 fewer miles per month because of their online activity.

The error is in the Computerworld article which misstates:

[R]esidents there drove more than 100 fewer hours per month because of transactions done online.

Re:Should say miles, not hours

[tomhudson]

There's lies, damned lies, and statistics.

66% of broadband users report driving an average of 102 fewer miles per month

This tells us nothing. if the other 34% drove 200 more miles per month ( 50 miles/week - for example, to look at stuff they found on cragislist, or to meet people they chatted with online) then there are zero savings in driving distances. The fact that they didn't give an overall figure shows they cherry-picked, and the real savings is more like 25 miles/month overall.

Another bogus claim:

$35 billion in value from 3.8 billion hours saved per year from accessing broadband at home

WTF is that supposed to mean? That people will suddenly be saving $9.50 /hr for every hour they surf the net form home? That's not my experience. Or maybe they're trying to claim that, if people can access the tubes from home, they won't at work ... saving their employers $35 billion. Guess they didn't see the studies that showed 70% of all porn is accessed from work ...

The "study" is bogus. Its an attempt from the telcos to get more "incentives" from the government.

Re:Nice idea, but possibly dubious math

[schnikies79]

I live in a red state (very southern Indiana, and in a very rural area) and hicks or not, they are not dumb rednecks, nor is my community bigoted. Everyone gets along quite well thank you. If you know anything about Indiana, you would know there is a large push to get hi-tech industry here (by a republican governor, oh my gosh), and it's working.

Personally, I don't work in IT and have no desire what-so-ever to be in that line of work (I'm a chemist), but plenty of people are. I'm sorry that you don't like the Midwest, but your stereotypes are just plain wrong. Don't think for a second there is no hi-tech work or expertise.

From my experience, the IT folks are usually the anti-social type and really aren't that fun to be around.

Re:I think you have the answer already

[hairyfeet]

And it isn't just greed either.True story---A few years back a guy I went to school with worked at a little tv/appliance/pc shop outside of town.Nobody would run broadband there,and the dialup was pitiful(14k on a good day).So he talks his boss into paying out the rear to have a T1 run the 15 miles to the shop.He had already talked to the neighbors and other local shops and they were happy to hand him $50-100 a month depending on their needs and take a piece of the T1.He gets everyone wired up,sets up a server to cache things like OO.o and firefox,as well as giving them email accounts,and everyone was happy.

A couple of months later the ISP gets wind of it and comes up with some rule about "amount of computers allowed to connect to the line" or some BS,it was obvious they had made it up just to get rid of him.Basically it would have made the price about 500% higher while limiting them horribly.He asks around trying to find another service provider,and wouldn't you know it,the only two that would service that area had the exact same rule! What are the odds,huh? So they give up the T1,they went out of business less than a year later,and do you think that anyone brought broadband to those folks willing to pay $50-100 a month? Nope.The line sits rotting away last time I went out that way and they are all still stuck on 14k on a good day.

The moral of the story? It isn't just about greed,it is about power. They consider it their sandbox to do with as they see fit,and they "compete" with their golfing buddies over a few choice spots.The rest can go rot for all they care.If we had let big business and "the market" handle it when it came to water and power I bet folks in the hills would still be using candles and crapping in a outhouse.Like a national highway system this is something we as a nation are going to need to compete in this century,period.But with the current "F*ck everything but the stock price!" attitude most aren't going to invest in the long term because the day traders only care about the quarter.We have to invest in our infrastructure,power,water,roads,and communications.If we don't we are simply going to be left a backwater while everyone else advances.As always my 02c on the subject,YMMV.

Re:Nice idea, but possibly dubious math

[DarkShadeChaos]

Well I live in Kentucky (Bullitt County as a matter of fact) and work in Louisville (Jefferson County)... yes technically they are correct about broadband creating more jobs and saving hours / travel; however they are low-level jobs which I wouldn't consider unless I wanted a pay cut!

As an aside, our local cable internet is Insight which offers a decent package (business too) for 10Mb/1Mb and we don't get all the nasty filtering we hear about from elsewhere or saturated nodes...

I'm 23 with certifications in Microsoft, Novell, Cisco and an associates in my field.
We're not all rednecks down here :P