As late as the mid-1930s, nine out of 10 rural homes were without electric service. The farmer milked his cows by hand in the dim light of a kerosene lantern. His wife was a slave to the wood range and washboard. The unavailability of electricity in rural areas kept their…

For-profit ISPs have little motivation to bring Broadband access to rural populations and many urban residents cannot afford the plans that are available. Large for-profit companies need to show their shareholders they are profitable on a quarterly basis. Thus, their infrastructure investments focus on places where they can get a…