NEWSRELEASE
For Release: December 13, 2005 Report Documents Rural Digital Divide Rural Small Businesses Less Likely To Use Broadband Services WASHINGTON, D.C. - A new report issued today by the Office of Advocacy of the
U.S. Small Business Administration provides detail on the rural digital divide.
The report documents greater broadband use by small businesses in urban areas
compared with small businesses in rural areas. Written by Telenomic Research with funding from the Office of Advocacy the
report, Broadband Use by Rural Small Business, was released in
Indianapolis at a broadband access forum hosted by USDA Rural Development,
United States Senator Richard Lugar (R-IN), Indiana Lieutenant Governor Becky
Skillman, and the Indiana Office of Rural Affairs. The report’s author reviewed a number of reports showing links between
information technology investment, broadband penetration, and economic growth.
These results, combined with documented lower levels of rural small business
broadband use, indicate that without increased broadband access rural economies
could miss out on higher levels of growth and job creation. The Office of Advocacy, the “small business watchdog” of the government,
examines the role and status of small business in the economy and independently
represents the views of small business to federal agencies, Congress, and the
President. It is the source for small business statistics presented in
user-friendly formats and it funds research into small business issues. For more information and a complete copy of the report, visit the Office of
Advocacy website at
Contact: John
McDowell, (202) 205-6941
john.mcdowell@sba.gov
SBA Number: 05-50 ADVO
Press Kit
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The Office of Advocacy of the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) is an independent voice for small business within the federal government. The presidentially appointed Chief Counsel for Advocacy advances the views, concerns, and interests of small business before Congress, the White House, federal agencies, federal courts, and state policy makers. For more information, visit
www.sba.gov/advo, or call (202) 205-6533.