WASHINGTON, September 30, 2002—As economic and social development becomes increasingly tied to telecommunications, many rural areas in the United States are not taking advantage of the available opportunities to hook up to high-speed broadband Internet connections. These areas include communities across the Appalachian Region, as documented in a recent report commissioned by the Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC), Links to the Future: The Role of Information and Telecommunications Technology in Appalachian Economic Development.

Community leaders and organizers in telecommunications, health, business, and government are gathering to address this issue in a conference sponsored by the Rural Telecommunications Congress (RTC) October 6–9, 2002, at the Hotel Fort Des Moines in Des Moines, Iowa. The RTC is a national membership organization helping provide rural communities in the United States with the information and support they need to obtain and use advanced telecommunications services.

Topics to be covered in this conference include "Going the Extra Mile: Macro and Micro Issues in Implementing Telehealth and Telemedicine;" creating a "Virtual Entrepreneurial Network;" and "An Overview of Telecommunications and Rural Policy Issues: How Can Rural Policy Make Use of Research." Speakers include Jack Geller, president of the Center for Rural Policy and Development; Jonathan Claffey, deputy assistant administrator of the Rural Utilities Service of the U.S. Department of Agriculture; Glenn Brown, president of McLean and Brown; Harry Roesch, ARC telecommunications adviser; and Sharon Strover, director of the Telecommunications and Information Policy Institute at the University of Texas.

Registration for the conference is $195.00 for RTC members and $245.00 for non-members. To register, visit www.ruraltelecon.org.